Antimicrobial susceptibility of standard strains of nontuberculous mycobacteria by microplate Alamar Blue assay

In this study, 24 standard nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species strains including 12 slowly growing mycobacteria strains and 12 rapidly growing mycobacteria strains were subjected to drug susceptibility testing using microplate Alamar Blue assay-based 7H9 broth. The most active antimicrobial agents against the 24 NTM strains were streptomycin, amikacin, the fluoroquinolones, and the tetracyclines. Mycobacterium chelonae, Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium bolletii, and Mycobacterium simiae are resistant to most antimicrobial agents. The susceptibility results of this study from 24 NTM standard strains can be referenced by clinicians before susceptibility testing for clinical isolates is performed or when conditions do not allow for susceptibility testing. The application of broth-based methods is recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, and the documentation of the susceptibility patterns of standard strains of mycobacteria can improve the international standardization of susceptibility testing methods.