REVIEW article
Front. Tuberc.
Sec. Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria
This article is part of the Research TopicNon-Tuberculous Mycobacteria and BronchiectasisView all 4 articles
Bidirectional Pathogenesis between Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria and Bronchiectasis: Clinical Insights, Diagnostic Challenges and Future Directions—Perspectives from South Asia
Provisionally accepted
Dr Amresh Kumar Singh1*
Sneha Singh2
NANDINI SINGH2Priyanka Gaur1
Ashwini Kumar Mishra1
Rajkishore Singh1Sushil Kumar2*- 1Baba Raghav Das Medical College, Gorakhpur, India
- 2Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, India
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Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental opportunistic pathogens causing chronic pulmonary disease. NTM pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) and bronchiectasis exhibit a bidirectional pathogenic relationship that is particularly under recognised in South Asian regions with high tuberculosis (TB) burden. This review article covers most of the current evidence on the epidemiology, clinical spectrum, pathogenesis, therapeutic advances of NTM-associated bronchiectasis. A well-structured literature search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar for articles published within from 2008 to 2025. These studies were specifically focused on NTM -associated bronchiectasis for host pathogen interactions, diagnostic strategies, and treatment outcomes. The prevalence of NTM related bronchiectasis especially with species like Mycobacterium avium complex and Mycobacterium abscessus which were more frequent pathogens all over the world. Its diagnostic dilemma with TB remains widespread due to limited lab capacity and lack of exact species identification, which leads to late or wrong diagnosis. Integration of molecular diagnostic tools, inclusion of NTM within national TB programs, and establishment of regional reference laboratories are essential to improve early detection, targeted treatment, and disease surveillance for bronchiectasis.
Keywords: Bronchiectasis, Diagnosis dilemma, Non-tuberculous mycobacteria, Post-tuberculosis, South Asia
Received: 30 Oct 2025; Accepted: 03 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Singh, Singh, SINGH, Gaur, Mishra, Singh and Kumar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Dr Amresh Kumar Singh
Sushil Kumar
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