Fomite transmission of Mycobacterium abscessus between severely disabled patients

Mycobacterium abscessus, a nontuberculous mycobacterium species, is emerging as an important global threat to individuals with underlying bronchiectasis and could be transmitted between humans. This study investigated a nosocomial outbreak of M. abscessus that was initially detected in two severely disabled patients in 2020 and expanded to five other patients at a hospital in Osaka, Japan. The goal of this project is to track the transmission route of M. abscessus via genomics analyses and environmental surveys.