Nontuberculous Mycobacteria, also known as atypical mycobacteria and mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT), is bacteria that most of us have never head of, yet it’s one of the primary causes of respiratory diseases in humans and a leading cause of death in HIV patients. Additionally, many believe that one type of NTM, paratuberculosis, which can be found in milk, is a major factor leading to Crohn’s disease.

Why bring all of this up in the Nutra Pharma blog? Quite simply because NTM is a major focus for the Company over the next several years.

While it’s not known exactly how people become infected with NTM, the medical community believes that people with preexisting conditions, such as HIV, emphysema, and other lung disorders are more prone to become infected. Equally important, it is understood that NTM can be found throughout the environment in water and soil.

Our longtime shareholders will remember the launch of our medical devices subsidiary, Designer Diagnostics. While originally the Designer Diagnostics team planned to focus on developing and selling medical diagnostics for the Tuberculosis market, they realized that there may be an even more important and underserved market out there…NTM.

Currently, there are several companies marketing Tuberculosis test kits, but no one is selling diagnostic tests for detecting Nontuberculous Mycobacterium in humans and the environment. This is where we fit in. Our NTM test kits may help save millions of lives by diagnosing over 15 different types of NTM, including Nocardia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Paratuberculosis, and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). Additionally, our test kits may help prevent future infections by analyzing the environment for these mycobacteria.

One of our primary goals is to educate the medical community and patients about NTM infections and the importance of regular testing, especially for those at higher risk for infection. We believe that every HIV patient should be tested monthly. Recently, we learned that in India, the medical community has shown that over 9% of HIV patients who had Tuberculosis also had a NTM that needed to be treated differently than Tuberculosis. By testing these patients, we feel strongly that our tests might diagnose the infections before they enter the bloodstream and ultimately save lives.

Additionally, to help prevent the spread of NTM throughout the environment, we think that every company involved with environmental testing, such as municipal water treatment facilities, should test for NTM at least once every 6 months.

To help you learn more about NTM, here are several articles worth reading:

• What’s in Your Pipes? (Time Magazine, July 2002)
• A Hidden Peril Lies in That Warm, Moist Air (New York Times, June 2006)

Additional NTM Resources:

• Stop NTM Now – Offers information about Nontuberculous Mycobacterium
• NTM Community on RareShare – A place for people affected by NTM to interact with each other
• National Jewish Guide to NTM – A guide to NTM from the leading Tuberculosis and Nontuberculous Mycobacterium medical and research institute

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