J. Ellner/M. Goldberger/D. Parenti: Mycobacterium avium infection and AIDS: A therapeutic dilemma in rapid evolution.
J. Infect. Dis. 163 (1991), 1326-1335.

5396 Henry Masur a.o.: Recommendations on prophylaxis and therapy for disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex disease in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.
New England J. Med. 329 (1993), 898-904.
Mycobacterium avium complex infection received little attention before the HIV epidemic because it infrequently caused disease in humans. The mycobacterium is ubiquitous in environment and can be recovered from fresh water, sea water, soil, dairy products, from many animals (chickens, pigs, dogs, cats, insects). Mycobacterium avium complex causes disseminated disease in as many as 15-40% of patients with HIV infection in the US, causing fever, night sweats, weight loss, and anemia. The disease occurs characteristically in patients with very advanced HIV disease and peripheral CD4 T-lymphocyte counts below 100 cells per cubic millimeter. The gastrointestinal tract is thought to be the most common site of colonization and dissemination. Effective prevention and therapy of Mycobacterium avium complex infection would probably improve the quality and duration of survival for HIV-infected persons. During the past five years several newer antimicrobial agents (especially Rifabutin) against the disease have become available.

Henry Masur: Mycobacterium avium intracellulare: Another scourge for indivduals with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
JAMA 248 (1982), 3013.

5385 Stephen Nightingale a.o.: Two controlled trials of rifabutin prophylaxis against mycobacterium avium complex infections in AIDS.
New England J. Med. 329 (1993), 828-833.
Disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infection (among the first opportunistic pathogens identified in patients with AIDS) eventually develops in most patients with AIDS. This infection results in substantial morbidity and reduces survival by about six months. Rifabutin is a semisynthetic rifamycin with demonstrated activity against Mycobacterium avium complex, both in vitro and in animal models. Given prophylactically, Rifabutin reduces the frequency of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infection in patients with AIDS and CD4 counts less than 200 per cubic millimeter.