Mycobacterium marinum
species of bacterium
Mycobacterium marinum is a slow growing fresh and saltwater mycobacterium (SGM) belonging to the genus Mycobacterium and the phylum Actinobacteria. It was formerly known as Mycobacterium balnei. The strain marinum was first identified by Joseph D. Aronson in 1926 and it is observed as a pathogenic mycobacterium causing tuberculosis-like infections in fish (mycobacteriosis) and skin lesions in humans. The bacteria grows optimally at a temperature around 30 °C.
Human infection
See aquarium granuloma
Mycobacterium marinum is an acid-fast, aerobic bacterium which can infect humans. Infection is usually associated either with swimming, preparing sea food, or with keeping or working with aquarium fish. Infections of humans are rare due to the chlorination of water. The bacteria penetrate the skin through trauma, usually from bites, injuries from fins, and penetration from foreign objects. The infection is not transmittable from person to person.
The bacteria invade macrophages, preventing the fusion of phagosome-lysosome and replicating inside.
A rare case of human infection was detected when a three year old American child was bitten by an iguana in Costa Rica in March 2022.
The public source identifies “Mycobacterium marinum” as species of bacterium. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Mycobacterium, marinum and species.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q508803. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1926 and 2022.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mycobacterium marinum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.