A Rhinofacial Conidiobolus coronatus Fungal Infection Presenting as an Intranasal Tumour

Conidiobolomycosis is a rare fungal infection that affects adults in tropical regions. We report a 42-year-old male patient who was referred to the Sulaiman Al Habib Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in 2013 with excessive nasal bleeding and a suspected nasal tumour. He reported having briefly visited central India nine months previously. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a highly vascularised mass in the nasal cavity. However, after surgical excision, initial treatment with amphotericin B deoxycholate was unsuccessful and the disease progressed, leading to external and internal nasal deformation and necessitating further excision and facial reconstruction. Histopathological analysis of the second biopsy revealed Splendore-Hoeppli changes consistent with a fungal infection. Microbiological findings subsequently confirmed Conidiobolus coronatus. Subsequently, the patient was successfully treated with a combination of itraconazole and fluconazole. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of a case of rhinofacial conidiobolomycosis from the UAE.Keywords: Nasal Obstruction; Conidiobolus; Zygomycosis; Antifungal Agents; Case Report; United Arab Emirates

PCR-based identification and strain typing of Pichia anomala using the ribosomal intergenic spacer region IGS1

Frequent outbreaks of Pichia anomala fungaemia in paediatric patients have warranted the development of a rapid identification system for this organism. This study describes a specific PCR-based method targeting the rRNA gene intergenic spacer region 1 (IGS1) for rapid identification of Pichia anomala isolates and characterization at the strain level. These methods of species identification and strain typing were used on 106 isolates of Pichia anomala (77 from a previously described outbreak and 29 isolated post-outbreak from the same hospital). Using conventional morphological and biochemical methods, 11 strains isolated during the outbreak were misidentified as P. anomala. BLAST analysis of sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rRNA genes confirmed that they were Pichia guilliermondii (eight isolates) and Debaryomyces hansenii (three isolates). Strain typing of Pichia anomala isolates confirmed the previous finding of a point-source outbreak. The results suggest that IGS sequences and their polymorphisms could be exploited for similar typing methods in other organisms

Comparison of ITS and IGS1 regions for strain typing of clinical and non-clinical isolates of Pichia anomala

Pichia anomala is an emerging nosocomial pathogen and there is a need for methods that distinguish between different P. anomala strains. In the typing of several clinical as well as non-clinical P. anomala strains, the sequence variation of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) was found to be inadequate for typing purposes. The intergenic spacer 1 (IGS1) region of the rDNA of several P. anomala strains was therefore investigated in detail. The IGS1 region (which varied from 1213 to 1231 bp in length) was interspersed with repeats and had more variation than the ITS regions. Comparative analysis in cases where analysis by the ITS was ambiguous clearly revealed the IGS1 region to be a more discriminatory tool in the typing of P. anomala strains

Clinicians’ challenges in managing patients with invasive fungal diseases in seven Asian countries: An Asia Fungal Working Group(AFWG) Survey

Background: Invasive fungal diseases (IFD) are a serious threat, but physicians in Asia lack access to many advanced diagnostics in mycology. It is likely that they face other impediments in the management of IFD. A gap analysis was performed to understand the challenges Asian physicians faced in medical mycology. Methods: The Asia Fungal Working Group (AFWG) conducted a web-based survey on management practices for IFD among clinicians in China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Findings: Among 292 respondents, 51.7% were infectious disease (ID) specialists. Only 37% of respondents had received formal training in medical mycology. They handled only around 2–4 proven cases of each fungal infection monthly, with invasive candidiasis the most common. For laboratory support, the majority had access to direct microscopy (96%) and histopathology (87%), but galactomannan and azole levels were available to 60% and 25% of respondents, respectively. The majority (84%) used clinical parameters for treatment response monitoring, and 77% followed the Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines. The majority (84%) did not use the services of an ID physician. Where febrile neutropenia was concerned, 74% of respondents used the empirical approach. Only 30% had an antifungal stewardship program in their hospital. Eighty percent could not use preferred antifungals because of cost. Interpretation: The survey identified inadequacies in medical mycology training, non-culture diagnostics, access to antifungal drugs, and local guidelines as the major gaps in the management of IFDs in Asian countries. These gaps are targets for improvement

Survey of laboratory practices for diagnosis of fungal infection in seven Asian countries: An Asia Fungal Working Group (AFWG) initiative

An online survey of mycology laboratories in seven Asian countries was conducted to assess the status, competence, and services available. Country representatives from the Asia Fungal Working Group (AFWG) contacted as many laboratories performing mycology diagnosis as possible in their respective countries, requesting that the laboratory heads complete the online survey. In total, 241 laboratories responded, including 71 in China, 104 in India, 11 in Indonesia, 26 in the Philippines, four in Singapore, 18 in Taiwan, and seven in Thailand. Overall, 129/241 (53.5%) surveyed mycology laboratories operate as separate designated mycology laboratories, 75/241 (31.1%) conduct regular formal staff training, 103/241 (42.7%) are accredited, and 88/157 (56.1%) participate in external quality assurance scheme (EQAS) programs. Microscopy and culture methods are available in nearly all laboratories, although few perform DNA sequencing (37/219; 16.9%) or use matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS) (27/219; 12.3%) for isolate identification. Antifungal susceptibility testing is performed in 142/241 (58.9%) laboratories, mainly for yeasts. The most commonly performed nonculture diagnostic is cryptococcal antigen testing (66 laboratories), followed by galactomannan testing (55), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnosis (37), and beta-D-glucan testing (24). Therapeutic drug monitoring is conducted in 21 laboratories. There is almost no access to advanced diagnostic tests, like galactomannan, β-D-glucan, and PCR, in the surveyed laboratories in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. These results highlight the need for development of quality laboratories, accreditation and training of manpower in existing laboratories, and access to advanced non–culture-based diagnostic tests to facilitate the diagnosis of fungal infections in Asia

Eumycetoma causative agents:A systematic review to inform the World Health Organization priority list of fungal pathogens

The World Health Organization, in response to the growing burden of fungal disease, established a process to develop a fungal priority pathogens list. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the epidemiology and impact of eumycetoma. PubMed and Web of Science were searched to identify studies published between 1 January 2011 and 19 February 2021. Studies reporting on mortality, inpatient care, complications and sequelae, antifungal susceptibility, risk factors, preventability, annual incidence, global distribution, and emergence during the study time frames were selected. Overall, 14 studies were eligible for inclusion. Morbidity was frequent with moderate to severe impairment of quality of life in 60.3%, amputation in up to 38.5%, and recurrent or long-term disease in 31.8%-73.5% of patients. Potential risk factors included male gender (56.6%-79.6%), younger age (11-30 years; 64%), and farming occupation (62.1%-69.7%). Mycetoma was predominantly reported in Sudan, particularly in central Sudan (37%-76.6% of cases). An annual incidence of 0.1/100 000 persons and 0.32/100  000 persons/decade was reported in the Philippines and Uganda, respectively. In Uganda, a decline in incidence from 3.37 to 0.32/100  000 persons between two consecutive 10-year periods (2000-2009 and 2010-2019) was detected. A community-based, multi-pronged prevention programme was associated with a reduction in amputation rates from 62.8% to 11.9%. With the pre-specified criteria, no studies of antifungal drug susceptibility, mortality, and hospital lengths of stay were identified. Future research should include larger cohort studies, greater drug susceptibility testing, and global surveillance to develop evidence-based treatment guidelines and to determine more accurately the incidence and trends over time.</p

The diagnosis of fungal neglected tropical diseases (fungal NTDs) and the role of investigation and laboratory tests: An expert consensus report

The diagnosis of fungal Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) is primarily based on initial visual recognition of a suspected case followed by confirmatory laboratory testing, which is often limited to specialized facilities. Although molecular and serodiagnostic tools have advanced, a substantial gap remains between the desirable and the practical in endemic settings. To explore this issue further, we conducted a survey of subject matter experts on the optimal diagnostic methods sufficient to initiate treatment in well-equipped versus basic healthcare settings, as well as optimal sampling methods, for three fungal NTDs: mycetoma, chromoblastomycosis, and sporotrichosis. A survey of 23 centres found consensus on the key role of semi-invasive sampling methods such as biopsy diagnosis as compared with swabs or impression smears, and on the importance of histopathology, direct microscopy, and culture for mycetoma and chromoblastomycosis confirmation in well-equipped laboratories. In basic healthcare settings, direct microscopy combined with clinical signs were reported to be the most useful diagnostic indicators to prompt referral for treatment. The survey identified that the diagnosis of sporotrichosis is the most problematic with poor sensitivity across the most widely available laboratory tests except fungal culture, highlighting the need to improve mycological diagnostic capacity and to develop innovative diagnostic solutions. Fungal microscopy and culture are now recognized as WHO essential diagnostic tests and better training in their application will help improve the situation. For mycetoma and sporotrichosis, in particular, advances in identifying specific marker antigens or genomic sequences may pave the way for new laboratory-based or point-of-care tests, although this is a formidable task given the large number of different organisms that can cause fungal NTDs. © 2019 by the authors

High Resolution Genotyping of Clinical Aspergillus flavus Isolates from India Using Microsatellites

Contains fulltext : 124312.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Worldwide, Aspergillus flavus is the second leading cause of allergic, invasive and colonizing fungal diseases in humans. However, it is the most common species causing fungal rhinosinusitis and eye infections in tropical countries. Despite the growing challenges due to A. flavus, the molecular epidemiology of this fungus has not been well studied. We evaluated the use of microsatellites for high resolution genotyping of A. flavus from India and a possible connection between clinical presentation and genotype of the involved isolate. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A panel of nine microsatellite markers were selected from the genome of A. flavus NRRL 3357. These markers were used to type 162 clinical isolates of A. flavus. All nine markers proved to be polymorphic displaying up to 33 alleles per marker. Thirteen isolates proved to be a mixture of different genotypes. Among the 149 pure isolates, 124 different genotypes could be recognized. The discriminatory power (D) for the individual markers ranged from 0.657 to 0.954. The D value of the panel of nine markers combined was 0.997. The multiplex multicolor approach was instrumental in rapid typing of a large number of isolates. There was no correlation between genotype and the clinical presentation of the infection. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: There is a large genotypic diversity in clinical A. flavus isolates from India. The presence of more than one genotype in clinical samples illustrates the possibility that persons may be colonized by multiple genotypes and that any isolate from a clinical specimen is not necessarily the one actually causing infection. Microsatellites are excellent typing targets for discriminating between A. flavus isolates from various origins