Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Beijing genotype strains not associated with radiological presentation of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains of the Beijing genotype have been involved in various outbreaks of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Some studies suggest that the infection with the Beijing genotype is associated with a different host immune response. Since this might also lead to a different chest X-ray (CXR) presentation, we compared CXRs of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, 33 of whom were infected with the Beijing genotype and 76 with other genotypes. No significant differences were detected. We conclude that the Beijing genotype is not associated with a different CXR presentation.