%0 Journal Article %A Falkinham, Joseph O. %T Growth in catheter biofilms and antibiotic resistance of Mycobacterium avium %D 2007 %J Journal of Medical Microbiology, %V 56 %N 2 %P 250-254 %@ 1473-5644 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.46935-0 %I Microbiology Society, %X Cells of Mycobacterium avium strain A5 adhered to plasticized polyvinyl chloride catheter tubing and grew at low nutrient concentration, consistent with reports of catheter-associated M. avium infection. Starting with initial cell densities of 1–2×106 c.f.u. ml−1, biofilms of approximately 350 c.f.u. cm−2 formed within 24 h at room temperature. Growth rates of cells in biofilms were exponential and equal to 2.45 days doubling time. Rates were exponential for 1–2 weeks incubation and reached cell densities of 6.5×104 c.f.u. cm−2 by 4 weeks. Cells grown in catheter biofilms were significantly more resistant to clarithromycin and rifamycin than cells grown in suspension. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.46935-0