Description

• Usually smooth, rarely rough and nonpigmented colonies
  Colony (biology)
  In biology, a colony reference to several individual organisms of the same species living closely together, usually for mutual benefit, such as stronger defense or the ability to attack bigger prey. Some insects live only in colonies...
  
  . Ageing colonies may become yellow.

• Growth on Löwenstein-Jensen medium and Middlebrook 7H10 at 37°C after 7 or more days.
• Resistant to isoniazid
  Isoniazid
  Isoniazid , also known as isonicotinylhydrazine , is an organic compound that is the first-line antituberculosis medication in prevention and treatment. It was first discovered in 1912, and later in 1951 it was found to be effective against tuberculosis by inhibiting its mycolic acid...
  
  , ethambutol
  Ethambutol
  Ethambutol is a bacteriostatic antimycobacterial drug prescribed to treat tuberculosis. It is usually given in combination with other tuberculosis drugs, such as isoniazid, rifampicin and pyrazinamide....
  
  , rifampin and streptomycin
  Streptomycin
  Streptomycin is an antibiotic drug, the first of a class of drugs called aminoglycosides to be discovered, and was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis. It is derived from the actinobacterium Streptomyces griseus. Streptomycin is a bactericidal antibiotic. Streptomycin cannot be given...
  
  .

• M. intracellulare and Mycobacterium avium form the M. avium-intracellulare complex (MAIC). A commercially available hybridisation assay (AccuProbe) to identify all members of the MAIC exists. Furthermore, separate AccuProbes are available to identify either M. intracellulare or M. avium.
• Remarkable ITS
  ITS
  its, it's or ITS can mean:* it's, a contraction of it is or it has* its, the possessive adjective and possessive pronoun form of the personal pronoun it- Computing :...
  
   heterogeneity within different M. intracellulare isolates.

Pathogenesis

• Most frequently encountered in pulmonary secretions from patients suffering from tuberculosis
  Tuberculosis
  Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
  
  -like disease and from surgical specimens from such patients.
• When isolated from human secretions, it is often the etiologic agent of pulmonary disease, although frequently isolated as apparent casual resident
• Biosafety level
  Biosafety level
  A biosafety level is the level of the biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed facility. The levels of containment range from the lowest biosafety level 1 to the highest at level 4 . In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and...
  
   2

Type strain

• First isolated from fatal systemic disease in a child. Found in soil
  Soil
  Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
  
   and water
  Water
  Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
  
  .