Mycobacterium africanum, a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, is endemic to West Africa. M. africanum causes up to half of human tuberculosis (TB) in West Africa. It was first described as a distinct subspecies within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) by Castets and colleagues in 1968, when it was isolated from sputum of a tuberculosis patent in Senegal.
The MTBC consists of M. africanum, M. bovis, M. canettii, M. microti, and M. tuberculosis. They are obligate pathogens and the etiologic agents of tuberculosis, so named because of the nodular lesions observed in lungs, which are termed tubercles.
Although all members of MTBC might cause disease in humans, M. tuberculosis and M. africanum are the primary cause of disease in humans globally, whereas M. bovis primarily causes disease in cattle.
The disease produced by M. africanum is similar to that caused by M. tuberculosis or M. bovis, and like M. tuberculosis, this organism is likely spread by aerosol transmission.
Mycobacterium africanum
