Mycobacterium Kansasii

Yes it is.

Mycobacterium kansasii is a type of bacterial infection that can cause fatal symptoms in people who have a weakened immune system. People who have a healthy immune system can also be infected with M. kansasii. However, the symptoms they are generally not life threatening and are often limited to lung problems. People living with HIV at a late stage, M. kansasii usually involves the lungs and can spread to other organs, including liver, spleen and bone marrow.
often, M kansasii causes lung disease that is clinically indistinguishable from tuberculosis. Symptoms may be less severe and more chronic compared to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. asymptomatic infection occurs in a small proportion (16%) patients.

* Host Healthy

o Pulmonary infection: The most common symptoms of pulmonary infection: cough (91%), sputum production (85%), weight loss (53%), dyspnea (51%), chest pain (34%) , hemoptysis (32%), and fever or sweating (17%).

No infection of the skin resembles sporotrichosis secondary to local lymphatic spread. Skin lesions may include nodules, pustules, verrucous lesions, erythematous plaques, abscesses and ulcers.

Immunocompromised Host *

o The infection occurs late in the course of the disease. The lung is the organ most frequently involved. Commonly reported symptoms include fever, chills, night sweats, cough productive or unproductive, weight loss, fatigue, dyspnea and chest pain.

No disseminated disease occurs in approximately 20% of patients infected with HIV who have M kansasii isolates.

o Meningococcal meningitis similar to M tuberculosis has been reported in patients infected with HIV, and may have a higher mortality rate, despite the administration of appropriate antibiotics.

o bacteremia, pericarditis with cardiac tamponade, oral ulcer, chronic sinusitis, osteomyelitis, abscess of the scalp and have been reported in patients with AIDS.

o M kansasii disseminated was also reported in other immunocompromised (eg patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, patients on hemodialysis).

o skin infections in immunocompromised hosts who are usually have atypical clinical features (eg, cellulitis, seroma). These features, along with atypical histology (eg, the absence of granuloma), may delay diagnosis.
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1537.h ...

Looks like you have good answers here, but just so you know, I developed Mycobacterium kansasii as a healthy 23 year old, took medication for about 10 months to a year, and now am a healty 49. Report Abuse

This should help

Mycobacterium kansasii is a bacterium that belongs to the same family as the organisms that cause tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) and Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (MAI, M. avium and M. intracellulare). In people whose immune system such as a CD4 count below 100 cells/mm3, it can cause lung problems, and can sometimes spread to other parts of the body.

M. kansasii is a common opportunistic infection among miners in South Africa with HIV infection. Its incidence is unknown in other groups in southern Africa, and has not been reported in other parts of the world. M. kansasii is not transmitted from person to person, but is believed to be acquired from contaminated water sources.

The symptoms and diagnosis
Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. The O.