<unk>  are widely distributed in the environment, particularly in wet soil, marshland, streams, rivers and estuaries. Different species of<unk>  prefer different types of environment. Human disease is believed to be acquired from environmental exposures. Unlike tuberculosis and leprosy, animal-to-human or human-to-human transmission of<unk>  rarely occurs.<unk>  diseases have been seen in most industrialized countries, where incidence rates vary from 1.0 to 1.8 cases per 100,000 persons. Recent studies, including one done in Ontario, Canada, suggest that incidence is much higher. Pulmonary<unk>  is estimated by some experts in the field to be at least ten times more common than TB in the U.S., with at least 150,000 cases per year. Most<unk>  disease cases involve the species known as<unk> m avium complex or MAC for short, M. abscessus, M. fortuitum and M. kansasii. M. abscessus is being seen with increasing frequency and is particularly difficult to treat. Mayo Clinic researchers found a three-fold increased incidence of cutaneous<unk>  infection between 1980 and 2009 in a population-based study of residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota. The most common species were M. marinum, accounting for 45% of cases and M. chelonae and M. abscessus, together accounting for 32% of patients. M. chelonae infection outbreaks, as a consequence of tattooing with infected ink, have been reported in the United Kingdom and the United States. Rapidly growing<unk> s are implicated in catheter infections, post-LASIK, skin and soft tissue (especially post-cosmetic surgery) and pulmonary infections.
Nontuberculous mycobacteria
Aspergillus
Mycoplasma
Corynebacterium
Cryptococcus
Mycobacterium avium complex
Cryptococcus neoformans
Actinobacillus