First report on isolation and molecular characterization of clinical Mycobacterium setense isolates in Asia.

We herein present the third set of documented clinical Mycobacterium setense cases. Three clinically unrelated isolates were identified and characterized using various key conventional and molecular diagnostic tests. Phenotypic and molecular data analysis, particularly 16S rDNA, hsp65, and rpoB sequencing, provided evidence of M. setense involvement in clinical infections in Iranian patients. Our findings may shed light on the capability of this rare Mycobacterium sp. to cause infection in both healthy and immunocompromised patients.