TABLE 2.
Numbers and percentages of samples positive for mycobacterial species isolated from groundwater or treated surface water or from mixed water (ground or treated surface water samples) collected from the Paris water distribution system
| Species or group | Groundwater (41 positive samples)
|
Treated surface water (33 positive samples)
|
Mixture (ground or treated surface water) (30 positive samples)
|
All samples (104 positive samples)a
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of positive samples | % | No. of positive samples | % | No. of positive samples | % | No. of positive samples | % | |
| Saprophytic mycobacteria | ||||||||
| M. gordonae | 4 | 9.8 | 16 | 48.5 | 10 | 33 | 30 | 28.8 |
| M. nonchromogenicum | 8 | 19.5 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 13 | 12 | 11.5 |
| M. aurum | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 |
| M. gadium | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Potentially pathogenic mycobacteria | ||||||||
| M. fortuitum | 3 | 7.3 | 1 | 3.0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4.8 |
| M. peregrinum | 3 | 7.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 5.8 |
| M. chelonae | 2 | 4.9 | 3 | 9.1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 7.7 |
| M. intracellulare | 1 | 2.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Unidentified mycobacteria | 34 | 82.9 | 17 | 51.5 | 20 | 67 | 57 | 54.8 |
a
When all samples were examined, the percentages of positive samples for the groups were as follows: saprophytic mycobacteria, 41.3%; potentially pathogenic mycobacteria, 16.3%; and unidentified mycobacteria, 54.8%.