The epidemiology of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease in the Netherlands

Background Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are emerging opportunistic pathogens of humans. Because NTM pulmonary disease (PD) is not a notifiable disease in Europe, the epidemiology of NTM-PD is not well known. However, the prevalence of NTM-PD is thought to be increasing, particularly in countries where tuberculosis rates have decreased. Here we aim to determine the prevalence of NTM-PD in the Netherlands. Methods Annual prevalence estimates of NTM-PD in the Netherlands (2012–2019) were derived from four separate databases, including two drug dispensing databases, an ICD-10 code database an... Mehr ...