Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (interstitial plasma cell pneumonitis) in an immunocompromised person is a life-threatening infection. Primary infection in the immunocompetent person is usually subclinical and goes unrecognized. The disease most likely results from new or repeat acquisition of the organism…
Description of Pathogen Pneumocystis jirovecii (formerly called P. carinii ) is an opportunistic human respiratory pathogen. Although Pneumocystis organisms share some of the common features of protozoa, molecular genetic comparisons have definitively placed Pneumocystis among the ascomycetous fungi. , Pneumocystis…
Fungal infections, other than those caused by Candida spp., rarely are considered in the differential diagnosis for an acutely ill newborn infant because disorders of bacterial and viral etiology are vastly more common. Nevertheless, fungal infections do occur in neonates,…