Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Hygiene logoLink to The Journal of Hygiene
. 1985 Feb;94(1):9–21. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400061088

Subdivision of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for epidemiological purposes: a seven year study of the "Classical' and 'Asian' types of the human tubercle bacillus in South-East England.

J M Grange, M D Yates, C H Collins
PMCID: PMC2129392  PMID: 3919087

Abstract

Human strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were divided into the 'Classical' and 'Asian' types according to their sensitivity to thiophen-2-carboxylic acid hydrazide. The isolation of these two types in South-East England was studied during a seven-year period (1977-1983). The 'Asian' type was more prevalent among ethnic Asian patients than among ethnic Europeans. Among Europeans there was a decline in the isolation rate of 'Classical' strains and a small but significant increase in 'Asian' strains during the study period, so that the proportion of the latter type in this group is increasing. The type of bacillus was unrelated to the site of isolation except that the incidence of lymphadenitis due to the 'Asian' type among European females was significantly higher than expected. In general, European patients tended to be older than Asian patients, and the differences in age distribution according to site of isolation and type of bacillus in each ethnic group were small. A notable exception occurred with European females infected with the 'Asian' type, whose age distribution was similar to the Asians. In view of the differences in behaviour of the two types of human tubercle bacilli in this country there is a need to continue a bacteriological surveillance and also to determine whether the nature of the host-pathogen interaction varies according to the type of bacillus.

Full text

PDF
9

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bates J. H., Mitchison D. A. Geographic distribution of bacteriophage types of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1969 Aug;100(2):189–193. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1969.100.2.189. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Collins C. H., Yates M. D., Grange J. M. Subdivision of Mycobacterium tuberculosis into five variants for epidemiological purposes: methods and nomenclature. J Hyg (Lond) 1982 Oct;89(2):235–242. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400070765. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Collins C. H., Yates M., Grange J. M. Names for mycobacteria. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Feb 11;288(6415):463–464. doi: 10.1136/bmj.288.6415.463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Goren M. B., Brokl O., Schaefer W. B. Lipids of putative relevance to virulence in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: phthiocerol dimycocerosate and the attenuation indicator lipid. Infect Immun. 1974 Jan;9(1):150–158. doi: 10.1128/iai.9.1.150-158.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Goren M. B., Grange J. M., Aber V. R., Allen B. W., Mitchison D. A. Role of lipid content and hydrogen peroxide susceptibility in determining the guinea-pig virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Br J Exp Pathol. 1982 Dec;63(6):693–700. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Grange J. M., Aber V. R., Allen B. W., Mitchison D. A., Goren M. B. The correlation of bacteriophage types of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with guinea-pig virulence and in vitro-indicators of virulence. J Gen Microbiol. 1978 Sep;108(1):1–7. doi: 10.1099/00221287-108-1-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Grange J. M., Aber V. R., Allen B. W., Mitchison D. A., Mikhail J. R., McSwiggan D. A., Collins C. H. Comparison of strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from British, Ugandan and Asian immigrant patients: a study in bacteriophage typing, susceptibility to hydrogen peroxide and sensitivity to thiophen-2-carbonic acid hydrazide. Tubercle. 1977 Dec;58(4):207–215. doi: 10.1016/0041-3879(77)90045-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Grange J., Collins C., Yates M. Bacteriological survey of tuberculous lymphadenitis in South-east England: 1973-80. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1982 Sep;36(3):157–161. doi: 10.1136/jech.36.3.157. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. MITCHISON D. A., SELKON J. B., LLOYD J. VIRULENCE IN THE GUINEA-PIG, SUSCEPTIBILITY TO HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, AND CATALASE ACTIVITY OF ISONIAZID-SENSITIVE TUBERCLE BACILLI FROM SOUTH INDIAN AND BRITISH PATIENTS. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1963 Oct;86:377–386. doi: 10.1002/path.1700860213. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Sutherland I., Springett V. H., Nunn A. J. Changes in tuberculosis notification rates in ethnic groups in England between 1971 and 1978/79. Tubercle. 1984 Jun;65(2):83–91. doi: 10.1016/0041-3879(84)90058-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Yates M. D., Collins C. H., Grange J. M. "Classical" and "Asian" variants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated in South East England 1977-1980. Tubercle. 1982 Mar;63(1):55–61. doi: 10.1016/s0041-3879(82)80009-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Yates M. D., Collins C. H. Identification of tubercle bacilli. Ann Microbiol (Paris) 1979 Jul;130B(1):13–19. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Hygiene are provided here courtesy of Cambridge University Press

RESOURCES