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Open research questions in Mycobacterium research and diagnosis

416 gap statements mined from Mycobacterium research and diagnosis papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,360 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Limited data on rare pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infections, such as Mycobacterium kiyosense. Lack of established treatment regimens for M. kiyosense infections. The need for accurate species identification and diagnosis of pulmonary NTM infections.

    Pulmonary Mycobacterium kiyosense infection presenting with elevated serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9: a case report · 2026 · DOI

  • It also highlights the need to understand the mechanisms of immune suppression in CF. The study aims to fill this gap by investigating the immune response to MAB in CF macrophages.

    Mycobacterium abscessus induces immune suppression in cystic fibrosis macrophages · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited microbiological information is available on the water produced by vending machines. There is a need to assess the risks associated with vending machine water.

    Microbiological Quality and Presence of Clinically Relevant Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Purified Water from Vending Machines in Michoacan, Mexico · 2025 · DOI

  • There is a need to investigate the incidence and clinical implications of NTM positivity in MDR-TB patients. The study highlights the importance of understanding NTM colonization versus infection in managing MDR-TB.

    Clinical Characteristics of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Positivity Occurring During Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment: A Retrospective Study · 2025 · DOI

  • Accurate identification of non-tuberculous mycobacteria is challenging due to the complexity of the genus. The assay needs to be able to distinguish between different species and subspecies of Mycobacterium spp. The assay needs to be able to make genotypic predictions for inducible macrolide resistance.

    Series 1: The Use of hsp65- and erm(41)-Targeted Amplicon Sequencing in the Diagnostic Workflow for Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the factors that drive this environmental-to-opportunistic switch remain poorly understood.

    Acidic pH Restricts Non‐Tuberculous Mycobacteria Replication · 2026 · DOI

  • These phenotypic features are considered important virulence determinants; however, the genetic factors underlying phenotypic variability remain poorly understood.

    Genomic determinants of morphotype transition and biofilm formation in clinical Mycobacterium abscessus isolates · 2026 · DOI

  • Patients with tracheostomies are particularly susceptible to Mycobacterium abscessus species (MABS) transmission within hospital settings; however, the nationwide prevalence remains unclear.

    Nationwide survey on nosocomial transmission of Mycobacterium abscessus in patients with tracheostomies in Japan · 2026 · DOI

  • IP assessment highlighted several concerns, including no formal facility water management program (WMP), a lack of dedicated IP personnel and certified sterile processing staff, the absence of a formalized system for tracking surgical site infections, and a notable gap in understanding the requirements for reporting diseases.

    Investigation of a Mycobacterium fortuitum prosthetic joint infection outbreak at two ambulatory surgery centers in Tennessee · 2025 · DOI

  • Regulatory mechanisms controlling Mab 's β‐lactamase (Bla Mab) that mediates β‐lactam resistance remain unknown.

    Atypical Mycobacterium abscessus BlaRI Ortholog Mediates Regulation of Energy Metabolism but Not β‐Lactam Resistance · 2024 · DOI

  • Such classification systems are limited by the influence of non-disease factors on test results, dichotomisation of continuous results into "positive" or "negative" according to an imperfect threshold, and subjectivity in defining which patterns of serial test results indicate different risk-categories.

    Use of a hidden Markov model for interpretation of serial cow milk paratuberculosis antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results adjusted for milk yield and quality · 2024 · DOI

  • On the other hand, given the total lack of clinical PTB in Polish goats, an explanation for a high HTP of PTB remains unclear and warrants further studies using tests of higher analytical specificity than ELISA.

    Herd-level true seroprevalence of caseous lymphadenitis and paratuberculosis in the goat population of Poland · 2024 · DOI

  • There is limited knowledge about non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections in migrants.

    Incidence and clinical significance of non-tuberculous mycobacteria among migrants in Denmark: A nationwide register-based cohort study from 1991 through 2021 · 2024 · DOI

  • The detection of mycobacteria in sputum samples is challenging due to their slow growth and low abundance. The risk of false positives or false negatives due to the presence of other Mycobacteriales or PCR inhibitors. The need to optimize the storage and processing of sputum samples to improve the detection of mycobacterial DNA.

    DNA from Slow-Growing Mycobacteria in Culture Negative Sputa Reveal Common Exposure to Mycobacteria · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of effective treatment options for patients with complex pulmonary aspergillosis.

    Bronchoscopic lesion resection combined with endobronchial instillation as a salvage therapy for a patient with complex aspergilloma complicated by non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection: case report · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper acknowledges that large-scale studies are needed to validate the combined bronchoscopic lesion resection plus endoscopic cavity-directed delivery approach, but does not specify study design parameters, sample size calculations, or comparative control groups needed to establish this salvage therapy's efficacy relative to surgical resection or systemic antifungal monotherapy.

    Bronchoscopic lesion resection combined with endobronchial instillation as a salvage therapy for a patient with complex aspergilloma complicated by non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection: case report · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for a more comprehensive understanding of the infectious landscape.

    Case Report: Beyond conventional diagnostics: mNGS support in a complex immunocompromised patient diagnosis · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for a more comprehensive understanding of the infectious landscape in such cases.

    Case Report: Beyond conventional diagnostics: mNGS support in a complex immunocompromised patient diagnosis · 2026 · DOI

  • Secondary minimal change disease due to infection is rare and not well understood. Nontuberculous mycobacteria are a rare cause of nephrotic syndrome.

    Refractory minimal change disease associated with Mycobacterium marinum infection · 2026 · DOI

  • Cutaneous M llatzerense infections are rare and not well understood. There is a need for more research on the diagnosis and treatment of NTM infections.

    Cutaneous Mycobacterium llatzerense in an immunocompetent woman: Case report and literature review · 2026 · DOI

  • Moreover, the optimal antibiotics and treatment durations for MW remain unknown. SSI rates vary widely worldwide, with pooled estimates approximately 11. Currently, no guidelines are available for the treatment of MW.

    Surgical site infection due to Mycobacterium wolinskyi after inguinal hernia surgery: A case report and review of the literature · 2026 · DOI

  • In South Korea, few studies have evaluated Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and NTM detection patterns and species distribution using long-term data.

    Trends in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex and Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Detection in Respiratory Specimens at a Tertiary-Care Hospital in South Korea, 2016–2025 · 2026 · DOI

  • Diagnosing NTM infections can be challenging due to the rarity of the disease. Treating NTM infections can be difficult due to the limited effectiveness of antibiotics.

    Cutaneous Mycobacterium llatzerense in an immunocompetent woman: Case report and literature review · 2026 · DOI

  • Further evaluation of the assay for other types of Mycobacterium spp., - Evaluation of the assay for use with different types of clinical samples, - Comparison of the assay with other identification methods, - Investigation of the assay's ability to predict resistance to other…

    Series 1: The Use of hsp65- and erm(41)-Targeted Amplicon Sequencing in the Diagnostic Workflow for Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria · 2025 · DOI

  • The difference in storage time may have affected the detection rate of mycobacterial DNA, - NaOH decontamination may reduce the yield of recovered DNA, - The study only analyzed a limited number…

    DNA from Slow-Growing Mycobacteria in Culture Negative Sputa Reveal Common Exposure to Mycobacteria · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Mycobacterium research and diagnosis

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Lack of established treatment regimens for M. kiyosense infections (“Pulmonary Mycobacterium kiyosense infection presenting with elevated serum…”, 2026); (2) The factors that drive this environmental-to-opportunistic switch remain poorly understood (“Acidic pH Restricts Non‐Tuberculous Mycobacteria Replication”, 2026); (3) These phenotypic features are considered important virulence determinants; however, the genetic factors underlying phenotypic variability remain poorly understood (“Genomic determinants of morphotype transition and biofilm formation in clinical…”, 2026); (4) Patients with tracheostomies are particularly susceptible to Mycobacterium abscessus species (MABS) transmission within hospital settings; however, the nationwide prevalence remains unclear (“Nationwide survey on nosocomial transmission of Mycobacterium abscessus in…”, 2026); (5) The lack of effective treatment options for patients with complex pulmonary aspergillosis (“Bronchoscopic lesion resection combined with endobronchial instillation as a…”, 2026). 416 gap statements have been mined from Mycobacterium research and diagnosis papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,360 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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