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Article: Mycobacteria in nail salon whirlpool footbaths, California.(Dispatches)
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In 2000, an outbreak of Mycobacterium fortuitum furunculosis affected customers using whirlpool footbaths at a nail salon. We swabbed 30 footbaths in 18 nail salons from 5 California counties and found mycobacteria in 29 (97%); M. fortuitum was the most common. Mycobacteria may pose an infectious risk for pedicure customers.
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In October 2000, we investigated the first known outbreak of Mycobacterium fortuitum cutaneous infections acquired from whirlpool footbaths, also called footspas, at a nail salon in northern California (1). Over 100 pedicure customers had prolonged boils on the lower legs that left scars when healed (1,2). In the ...