Isolation & Characterization Of Mycobacteria in Egyptian Environment

Forty soil samples were collected from animals wellings in three provinces. Twenty samples were collected from Ismailia province and ten samples from each of El Fayom and El Gharbia provinces.Cominad treament of soil s’elllples with 4 % sodium hydroxide sin pure oulture8~ By this method, atypical mycobacteria ware reeovered from 19 out of 40 soil samples examinedwith an incidence of 47.5 % •- Thirty .nin strains were isolated from the 19 ’positive saJIlples, and were identi:fied as follows: M runyonii(la strain) M,.t’ortuituo (9 strains), phle! (5 strains),spara.rortuitum (3 strains), M.flavescens (2 straina)end Eight strains remainQd unidentified and were classified into t’t’lTn g;rou.pa according to the±r biochemical infactions. It was found ”that Iilbst of the biochemical tests used in the present work ware of no value in differentiating the isolated atre.