 This species is the newest identifiable mycobacterial organism to thrive in these settings, joining other rapid growing species, "Mycobacterium fortuitum", "Mycobacterium chelonae", and "Mycobacterium abscessu"s, that have been found in previous outbreaks.These organisms are very persistent in the environment and can survive unusually harsh environmental conditions.The antibiotic therapy can go on for many months or even years.