Introduction:

In recent years, infections caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have had a remarkable increase in several regions of the world, mainly associated with respiratory infections in immunocompromised individuals. The identification of MNT is cumbersome and may take several weeks.

Objective:

Apply the molecular techniques GenoType Mycobacterium CM/AS for the identification of MNT in Cuba, and compare with the results of conventional tests.

Material and methods:

We used 73 MNT isolates from lung samples received from health units located in several provinces of Cuba in the period April 2017 - December 2018. For the identification of species, conventional techniques and molecular techniques were used GenoType CM/AS.

Results:

The most predominant identified species were those belonging to the M. avium-intracellulare complex (46.6%) and the Mycobacterium fortuitum (31.5%). Four isolates of M. simiae, a rare species in Cuba, were found. When comparing the results of both techniques, a concordance of 91.3% was obtained.

Conclusion:

GenoType Mycobacterium CM/AS techniques proved to be useful tools in the rapid identification of mycobacteria in the Reference Laboratory, providing accurate results in less time, significantly shortening the diagnostic time. The most frequent species in Cuba continue to be the M. avium-intracellulare complex and the Mycobacterium fortuitum.