Pneumocystis was discovered in 1909 in Brazil by Carlos Chagas, who mistakenly interpreted the organism as a trypanosome. In 1912 Pierre and Eugénie Delanöe, in Paris, identified Pneumocystis as a separate genus and species and named the organism in honor…
Scedosporium Apiospermum ( Pseudallescheria Boydii ) Species Complex In humans, infection with Scedosporium apiospermum, Scedosporium boydii (formerly Pseudallescheria boydii ) and Scedosporium aurantiacum (collectively, the S. apiospermum species complex) can produce two distinct diseases: mycetoma and scedosporiosis (pseudallescheriasis). Mycetoma is…
Description of the Pathogen Until 2006 the genus Paracoccidioides was thought to consist of a single species, P. brasiliensis, considered the sole etiologic agent of paracoccidioidomycosis. At present however, molecular and genetic studies have revealed that this genus includes a…
The superficial fungal infections include some of the most common infectious conditions, such as ringworm, tinea corporis, and pityriasis versicolor, and rare disorders such as tinea nigra. Their prevalence varies in different parts of the world, but in many tropical…
Although the systemic fungal infection now known as coccidioidomycosis has been recognized for more than a century, its endemic domains continue to be expanded. A medical intern is credited with first identifying in 1892 a patient who had widespread disease.…
Revised October 30, 2020 The etiologic agents of blastomycosis belong to a group of fungi that are characterized by thermal dimorphism. Advances in genomics and phylogenetics have expanded the number of Blastomyces species to include B. dermatitidis, B. gilchristii, B.…
Histoplasma capsulatum is one of the more common causes of infection in the US Midwest and Southeast. Histoplasmosis, acquired through inhalation of mycelial fragments and microconidia, is most often self-limiting but can cause potentially lethal infection in patients with preexisting…
Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are encapsulated, heterobasidiomycetous fungi that have progressed from being rare human pathogens, with just over 300 cases of cryptococcosis reported in the literature before 1955, to becoming a common worldwide opportunistic pathogen as immunocompromised human…
Mycetoma is a chronic progressive granulomatous infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue most often affecting the lower extremities, typically a single foot. The disease is unique from other cutaneous or subcutaneous diseases in its triad of localized swelling, underlying…
Chromoblastomycosis (chromomycosis) is a chronic, localized fungal infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue that produces raised scaly lesions, usually of the lower extremities. The lesions of chromoblastomycosis are frequently warty or cauliflower-like in appearance, with pathognomonic muriform cells (also…