First report on isolation of Mycobacterium monacense from sputum specimen in India

We report a case of Mycobacterium monacense (M. monacense) isolated from sputum of a female patient for the first time in India. The chest radiograph and symptoms were suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis. M. monacense was isolated from the sputum specimen at the end of 11 days of incubation. The identification was confirmed by conventional biochemical tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) - based Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and DNA sequencing targeting Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region and hsp65 gene. The patient was treated with conventional anti-tuberculous drugs.