 It was described in detail in 1997 on the isolation of a new strain from a 2-year-old Somali patient with lymphadenitis.It did not differ from "Mycobacterium tuberculosis" in the biochemical tests and in its 16S rRNA sequence.It had shorter generation time than clinical isolates of "M. tuberculosis" and presented a unique, characteristic phenolic glycolipid and lipo-oligosaccharide.