Phenotypic Profile of Isolated Strains of Environmental Mycobacteria in the Buruli Ulcer Endemic Zones in Cote d`Ivoire (2015)

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are microorganisms of the genus Mycobacterium. They are widely present in the environment (soil, water, sediment, aquatic plants ....). They are responsible for many infections as reported by several authors. The purpose of this study is to isolate and identify mycobacteria in the water and sediments found in hyperendemic areas and hypoendemic of Buruli ulcer. A total of 473 samples were obtained. As follows, 251 samples from water and 222 from sediment distributed according to sampling sites. The sample decontamination was performed with Cetylpiridium Chloride (CPC), followed by neutralization with phosphate buffer. A total of 8 species (12.3%) were identified in our study. 50.77% of species identified were found in hyper endemic zones against, 49.23% of species at the hypo-endemic zones. Species like M. peregrinum, like M. smegmatis, like M. peregrinum, M. immunogenicum, M. chelonae, M. mucogenicum, M. abscessus, M. sp. were isolated in this study. The species M, peregrinum (13.84%) was the most common in all sites, except in the sites of Bodo and Bouake. This study reveals the presence of fast growing mycobacteria such as M. peregrinum in water and in sediment in Cote d`Ivoire, which represents the potential risk of contamination in humans especially in people who are in permanent contact with water.