Moore et al. BMC Public Health 2010, 10:612 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/612 action afforded to tuberculosis, and a lack of clinical information in surveillance data limits the interpretation of the observed trends. While artefactual changes may, at least for some spe- cies, have contributed to the observed increase in NTM reports, real changes in the more notable, pathogenic species should not be excluded. Further study of specific reports, involving a detailed assessment of patient notes, is required to validate and understand the data observed. The collection of detailed clinical data, through a dedi- cated enhanced surveillance system, is needed to aid the understanding of NTM epidemiology and the assess- ment of the real impact of increasing reports on human health. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Charlotte Anderson for her help with the initial analysis and all hospital laboratories that submit data for the purpose of national surveillance. Author details 1Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, Respiratory Diseases Department - Tuberculosis Section, 61 Colindale Avenue, London, NW9 5EQ, UK. 2Royal Blackburn Hospital, Department of Chest Medicine, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 3HH, UK. 3Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, National Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory, Abernethy Building, Institute of Cell and Molecular Science (ICMS), 2 Newark Street, London, E1 2AT, UK. Authors’ contributions JEM conducted the analyses and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. IA suggested the analysis and, along with MK, contributed to the interpretation of the data and writing of the manuscript. LPO and FD contributed to the interpretation of the data and revision of the manuscript, with particular reference to clinical and laboratory aspects respectively. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 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Pre-publication history The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/612/prepub doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-612 Cite this article as: Moore et al.: Increasing reports of non-tuberculous mycobacteria in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 1995-2006. BMC Public Health 2010 10:612. Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and take full advantage of: • Convenient online submission • Thorough peer review • No space constraints or color ﬁgure charges • Immediate publication on acceptance • Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar • Research which is freely available for redistribution Submit your manuscript at www.biomedcentral.com/submit