Human Infection with Atypical Acid-Fast Organisms: Report of Two Cases with Pathologic Findings

Abstract

Two cases of human disease clinically resembling tuberculosis are described in which an atypical acid-fast organism was recovered. This organism was seen in the lesions and recovered from surgical material; and was again both observed in the lesions and cultured from autopsy material. This organism differs from a characteristic tubercle bacillus in that it grows rapidly, forms a smooth yellow colony, and fails to produce progressive disease in guinea pigs.