Letters
Infections from tattooing
Outbreak of Mycobacterium chelonae in France
BMJ 2010; 341 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c5483 (Published 26 October 2010) Cite this as: BMJ 2010;341:c5483
- Joana Goldman, doctor1,
- François Caron, PhD, department of infectious diseases2,
- Julie de Quatrebarbes, doctor1,
- Martine Pestel-Caron, PharmD, department of microbiology2,
- Philippe Courville, doctor1,
- Martin Xavier Doré, doctor3,
- Damien Picard, doctor1,
- Anne-Bénédicte Duval-Modeste, doctor1,
- Pierre Bravard, doctor4,
- Pascal Joly, professor1
- 1Department of Dermatology and INSERM U905, Rouen University Hospital, University of Rouen, Rouen, France
- 2Groupe de Recherche sur les Antimicrobiens et les Microorganismes, UPRES EA 2656 (GRAM, IFR 23), Rouen University Hospital, University of Rouen, Rouen, France
- 3Dermatology Centre, Rue du Marechal Joffre, Le Havre, France
- 4Department of Dermatology, Le Havre General Hospital, Le Havre
- Pascal.Joly{at}chu-rouen.fr
Tattooing is common worldwide.1 Various infections have been reported, including local infections mainly due to pyogenic bacteria and systemic infections such as hepatitis B and C and HIV.2 3 We report a large outbreak of Mycobacterium chelonae skin infection occurring in France over eight months that was related to contaminated ink.
Forty eight patients presented with skin lesions, mainly pustules, occurring from 3 to 35 …
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