To the Editor.—
Nontuberculous mycobacterioses are becoming more frequently recognized as etiological agents in cutaneous disease.1-4 Recently we had the opportunity to observe the course of a cutaneous Mycobacterium marinum infection in an accidentally inoculated laboratory worker.
Report of a Case.—
Late in the evening of Dec 31,1973, while attempting to inject the tail vein of a mouse, a 21-year-old male research laboratory worker accidentally inoculated his left thumb with a needle on a syringe containing a viable suspension of a 4-week-old culture of M marinum W46 that was grown on Dubos Oleic Albumin medium. The culture was centrifuged, and the bacteria was resuspended in Hanks balanced salt solution, without adjuvant, to give approximately 3.7 × 106 colony forming units/ml. The site was cleansed with an antiseptic detergent containing hexachlorophene (pHisoHex), but no further therapy was initiated. Ten days later the area was erythematous and mildly tender. On