Rapid detection of Mycobacterium kansasii in water by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was applied to measure tuberculostearic and 2,4-dimethyltetradecanoic acid in shower-water samples and in artificial water suspensions of Mycobacterium kansasii. Both of these branched-chain fatty acids were identified in all samples that produced at least 62 colony-forming units of M. kansasii after 4 weeks of incubation. GC/MS can, therefore, be used for the rapid detection of M. kansasii in water.