Introduction:

Mycobacterial infections can cause skin and lung lesions. Mycobacteria can be found in intra-hospital water sources which can reach immuno-suppressed patients and cause severe disease.

Objective:

To isolate and characterize non-tuberculous mycobacteria in the water distribution system in a hospital in Lima.

Materials and Methods:

Mycobacteria were isolated in conventional culture egg-based media and biochemical tests and molecular tools such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing were used for their identification. The GenBank was used for sequencing analysis and MEGA 6 was used for the phylogenetic tree.

Results:

Isolation of acid-fast bacilli was possible in samples of cold drinking water, although not in the hospital hot water. Several species of non-tuberculous mycobacteria were isolated and identified in the water samples being a 100% of rapid growth such as Mycobacterium canariasense, M. frederiksbergense, Mycobacterium fortuitum, Mycobacterium chelonae, and M. mucogenicum.

Conclusions:

This is the first time that mycobacteria are isolated in drinking water at a hospital in Perú. It is concluded that the existence of mycobacteria in hospital water could be a potential source of nosocomial outbreaks and should be analyzed periodically.

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