**Ewa Augustynowicz-Kope´c**

Prof. Ewa Augustynowicz-Kopec, MD, PhD is a clinical microbiologist and Director of the ´ Microbiology Department, National Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Institute, Warsaw, Poland.

Since the 1960s, the Microbiology Department has been referred to as the National Reference Laboratory of Tuberculosis and cooperates with all medical centers conducting research on tuberculosis. The Department participates in researching new medicines or vaccines for tuberculosis. The Department of Microbiology is also a national auditor of the quality of microbiological diagnostics of tuberculosis. It takes care of the work standards of 70 national TB laboratories. The National Reference Laboratory of Tuberculosis perform:


Ewa Augustynowicz-Kopec is a member of the TB Network Coordination Committee (TB ´ DNCC) as well as an active member of several national committees dealing with infectious diseases.

### **Preface to "Challenges and Advances in Tuberculosis and Mycobacterial Lung Diseases"**

Dear Colleagues,

Tuberculosis (Tb) is the leading cause of morbidity worldwide. According to the WHO, the estimated number of active Tb cases in 2019 was 10 million, while 1,2 million died of this disease. A significant epidemiological and clinical problem concerns the coinfection of M. tuberculosis and HIV, as well as the growing number of patients diagnosed with multi-resistant (MDR) or extensively resistant (XDR) Tb.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are the environmental opportunistic pathogens present in soil, water, and water-aerosols. Non-tuberculous mycobacterial lung diseases (NTMLD) are increasingly recognised all over the world, especially in ageing populations and in patients diagnosed with chronic lung diseases. The largest clinical problem concerns differentiating respiratory colonization from NTMLD. The spectrum of responsible NTM species is evolving, requiring the application of newer methods of identification.

The present Special Issue entitled "Challenges and Advances in Tuberculosis and Mycobacterial Lung Diseases" encompasses research articles, case presentations, and literature reviews concerning the epidemiology, medical surveillance, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in tuberculosis and in NTM infections.

The published papers explored the following topics:


We hope that the published data will contribute to scientific discussion concerning these global health problems.

#### **Monika Szturmowicz and Ewa Augustynowicz-Kope´c**

*Editors*

#### *Article* **New RAPMYCOI SensititreTM Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test for Atypical Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria (RGM)**

**Anna Borek \*, Anna Zabost, Agnieszka Głogowska, Dorota Filipczak and Ewa Augustynowicz-Kope´c**

> Department of Microbiology National Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Institute, 01-138 Warsaw, Poland **\*** Correspondence: a.borek@igichp.edu.pl

> **Abstract:** Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) cause an increasing international concern, mainly due to their natural resistance to many antibiotics. The aim of this study was to conduct species identification and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of RGM isolated in Poland. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using broth microdilution and the RAPMYCOI panel. A total of 60 strains were analysed, including the following species: *M. fortuitum* complex (30), *M. abscessus* subsp. *abscessus* (16), *M. abscessus* subsp. *massiliense* (7), *M. chelonae* (5), and *M. mucogenicum* (2). For 12 *M. abscessus* subsp. *abscessus* strains, the presence of the erm 41T28 genotype associated with inducible macrolide resistance and a functional *erm* gene was confirmed. A MUT2 mutation in the *rrl* gene (constitutive resistance) was identified for two strains from the subtype *M. abscessus* subsp. *massiliense*. Among the 15 tested antibiotics, amikacin and linezolid had the strongest antimycobacterial activity. Most of the tested strains were resistant to doxycycline and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Tigecycline MICs were low for all tested strains. Findings from our study highlight the importance of correct identification of clinical isolates and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

> **Keywords:** rapidly growing mycobacteria; antimicrobial resistance; broth microdilution; minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC)
