Mycobacterium wolinskyi is a rapidly growing mycobacterium

Mycobacterium

Mycobacterium is a genus of Actinobacteria, given its own family, the Mycobacteriaceae. The genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis and leprosy...

 most commonly seen in post-traumatic wound infections, especially those following open fractures and with associated osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis simply means an infection of the bone or bone marrow...

. Mycobacterium wolinskyi is clearly clinically significant, and occurs in the same settings as Mycobacterium smegmatis

Mycobacterium smegmatis

Mycobacterium smegmatis is 3.0 to 5.0 µm long with a bacillus shape, an acid-fast bacterial species in the phylum Actinobacteria. It can be stained by Ziehl-Neelsen method and the auramine-rhodamine fluorescent method. It was first reported in November 1884 by Lustgarten, who found a bacillus...

 and members of the Mycobacterium fortuitum

Mycobacterium fortuitum

Mycobacterium fortuitum is a nontuberculous mycobacterium.-Background:Mycobacterium fortuitum is a fast-growing species that can cause infections. The term "fast growing" is a reference to a growth rate of 3 or 4 days, when compared to other Mycobacteria that may take weeks to grow out on...

 complex; they differ from members of the Mycobacterium fortuitum

Mycobacterium fortuitum

Mycobacterium fortuitum is a nontuberculous mycobacterium.-Background:Mycobacterium fortuitum is a fast-growing species that can cause infections. The term "fast growing" is a reference to a growth rate of 3 or 4 days, when compared to other Mycobacteria that may take weeks to grow out on...

 complex in the type of chronic lung disease they produce, with essentially all cases occurring in the setting of chronic lipoid pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

, either secondary to chronic oil ingestion or chronic aspiration

Pulmonary aspiration

Pulmonary aspiration is the entry of material from the oropharynx or gastrointestinal tract into the larynx and lower respiratory tract...

 (usually achalasia). Etymology

Etymology

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...

: Wolinsky, named after Emanuel Wolinsky in honour of, and in recognition for, significant contributions to the study of the non-tuberculous mycobacteria.

• Mycobacterium wolinskyi was previously known as Mycobacterium smegmatis
  Mycobacterium smegmatis
  Mycobacterium smegmatis is 3.0 to 5.0 µm long with a bacillus shape, an acid-fast bacterial species in the phylum Actinobacteria. It can be stained by Ziehl-Neelsen method and the auramine-rhodamine fluorescent method. It was first reported in November 1884 by Lustgarten, who found a bacillus...
  
   group 3.

Description

Microscopy

• Gram-positive, nonmotile and acid-fast rods.

Colony characteristics

• Smooth to mucoid, off-white to cream coloured and nonpigmented colonies.
• Visible growth in 2 to 4 days on Middlebrook 7H10 agar.

Physiology

• No pigment is produced and growth occurs at 30, 35 and 45 °C.
• Isolates grow on MacConkey agar without crystal violet and in the presence of 5% NaCl, are negative for arylsulfatase activity at three days.
• Positive for iron uptake and nitrate reductase.
• They produce low-level semi-quantitative catalase activity that is stable at 68 °C, pH 7±0.
• The type strain is susceptible to amikacin and sulfamethoxazole, intermediately susceptible to doxycycline and ciprofloxacin
  Ciprofloxacin
  Ciprofloxacin is a synthetic chemotherapeutic antibiotic of the fluoroquinolone drug class.It is a second-generation fluoroquinolone antibacterial. It kills bacteria by interfering with the enzymes that cause DNA to rewind after being copied, which stops synthesis of DNA and of...
  
  , variably susceptible to cefmetazole, cefoxitin, chloramphenicol and clarithromycin, and resistant to isoniazid, rifampin and tobramycin.

Pathogenesis

• M. wolinskyi causes human disease and is most commonly seen in post-traumatic wound infections, especially those following open fractures and with associated osteomyelitis.

Type strain

• The type strain, ATCC 700010T (MO739), was recovered from a post-surgical facial abscess in Switzerland.
• Strain MO739 = ATCC 700010 = CCUG 47168 = CIP 106348 = DSM 44493 = JCM 13393.