Mycobacterium chimaera is one of a group of bacteria called Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) which are commonly found in the environment, including water. NTM typically are not harmful; however, in very rare cases, they can cause infections in post-operative surgical patients, especially in people with weakened immune systems. The LivaNova (Sorin) heater-cooler medical device used in open-heart surgery in Australia and around the world can cause M. chimaera infection.
Sterile site samples from patients with prosthetic or native valve endocarditis, mediastinitis, infective endocarditis, graft infection, sternal wound infection or other cardiac or other transplanted organ infection should be cultured for Mycobacteria in addition to standard bacterial culture. This should happen three or more months post-cardiothoracic surgery (highest risk is valve surgery). In addition, infected tissue samples, after the assessment of M. chimaera infection risk, may be forwarded for pan-mycobacterial PCR which is available at the Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory, New South Wales Health Pathology.
