Revisiting John Snow to Meet the Challenge of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Lung Disease

Aashka Parikh, Christopher Vinnard, Nicole Fahrenfeld, Amy L. Davidow, Amee Patrawalla, Alfred Lardizabal, Andrew Gow, Reynold Panettieri and Maria Gennaro
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Aashka Parikh: New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
Christopher Vinnard: Public Health Research Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
Nicole Fahrenfeld: School of Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
Amy L. Davidow: School of Public Health, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
Amee Patrawalla: New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
Alfred Lardizabal: New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
Andrew Gow: Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
Reynold Panettieri: Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
Maria Gennaro: Public Health Research Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous components of the soil and surface water microbiome. Disparities by sex, age, and geography demonstrate that both host and environmental factors are key determinants of NTM disease in populations, which predominates in the form of chronic pulmonary disease. As the incidence of NTM pulmonary disease rises across the United States, it becomes increasingly evident that addressing this emerging human health issue requires a bold, multi-disciplinary research framework that incorporates host risk factors for NTM pulmonary disease alongside the determinants of NTM residence in the environment. Such a framework should include the assessment of environmental characteristics promoting NTM growth in soil and surface water, detailed evaluations of water distribution systems, direct sampling of water sources for NTM contamination and species diversity, and studies of host and bacterial factors involved in NTM pathogenesis. This comprehensive approach can identify intervention points to interrupt the transmission of pathogenic NTM species from the environment to the susceptible host and to reduce NTM pulmonary disease incidence.

Keywords: mycobacterial infections; surface water; opportunistic plumbing pathogens; geographic distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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