Emerg Infect DisEmerging Infect. DisEIDEmerging Infectious Diseases1080-60401080-6059Centers for Disease Control and Prevention12095454273033902-014310.3201/eid0807.020143Letters to the EditorHot-Tub–Associated Mycobacterial Infections in Immunosuppressed PersonsGrahamDonald R.Springfield Clinic, Springfield, Illinois, USA7200287750750

To the Editor: I read with interest the report by Mangione et al. regarding Mycobacterium avium infection in a Colorado family who used an inadequately sanitized hot tub (1). The authors noted that the source of the M. avium complex was not clear, although the reservoir did appear to have been the hot tub.

Twenty years ago, I helped treat a patient with a local infection caused by M. fortuitum in his amputation stump (2). The patient had sat in his tub postoperatively three to four times per week. Although he had added disinfectants as recommended by the manufacturer, he had not cleaned the tub mechanically at any time during the incubation period of his infection. We recovered what appeared to be the same strain of M. fortuitum from the abscess on his amputation stump and specimens from the hot tub water and filter. However, we could not recover any Mycobacteria from his or his neighbor's tap water.

Three years after our experience with this patient, M. chelonei was found to cause colonization of sputum of patients with cystic fibrosis after they had been treated in a hydrotherapy pool (3).

These experiences indicate the absolute need for careful cleaning of hot tubs. Not only are immunosuppressed patients at risk for atypical mycobacterial infections but even otherwise healthy persons may be susceptible.

Suggested citation: Graham DR. Hot-Tub–Associated Mycobacterial Infections in Immunosuppressed Persons [letter]. Emerg Infect Dis. [serial on the Internet]. 2002 Jul [date cited]. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol8no7/02-0143.htm

ReferencesMangione EJ, Huitt G, Lenaway D, Beebe J, Bailey A, Figoski M, Nontuberculous mycobacterial disease following hot tub exposure. Emerg Infect Dis. 2001;7:10394211747738Aubuchon C, Hill JJ Jr, Graham DR Atypical mycobacterial infection in soft tissue associated with the use of a hot tub. J Bone Joint Surg. 1986;68-A:76683722235Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre Mycobacterium chelonei associated with a hydrotherapy pool. Commun Dis Rep 1985, October 11:3–4.