Documenting Environmentally Acquired Mycobacterium intracellulare subsp. chimaera Pulmonary Disease Soon After Bronchiectasis Onset.

It's difficult to prove exactly when and how people with bronchiectasis acquire nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) from the environment. We present data showing long-term household exposures of a homeowner and development of NTM pulmonary disease following the onset of bronchiectasis and correlating disease onset with longitudinal environmental sampling in an NTM geographic hotspot.