Name Changes for Fungi of Medical Importance, 2016-2017.

This article lists proposed new or revised species names and classification changes associated with fungi of medical importance that were published in the years 2016 and 2017. While many of the revised names listed have been widely adopted without further discussion, some may take longer to achieve more general usage.

Name Changes for Fungi of Medical Importance, 2012 to 2015.

This article lists proposed new or revised species names and classification changes associated with fungi of medical importance for the years 2012 through 2015. While many of the revised names listed have been widely adopted without further discussion, some may take longer to achieve more general usage.

Evolving strategies in the management of aspergillosis.

Aspergillus spp. remain the most common causes of invasive mould infections among patients with hematologic malignancies and recipients of solid-organ and hematopoietic stem-cell transplants. Despite advances in prevention and treatment, invasive aspergillosis continues to be a deadly disease.

Coccidioides species as potential agents of bioterrorism.

Coccidioides species are soil fungi endemic to the southwestern USA, and parts of Central and South America. Natural infection occurs as a result of inhalation of airborne arthroconidia. There is a wide spectrum of clinical illness and, although most human cases are self-limiting and inconsequential, infection can result in severe effects and sometimes death.

Trends in the epidemiology of invasive fungal infections.

Invasive fungal infections have increased in importance, largely because of the increasing size of the population at risk. Candida species remain the fourth most important cause of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections. Infections with Candida species other than C.

Fungal diseases: an evolving public health challenge.

The emergence of new fungal pathogens and the resurgence of mycotic diseases that had previously been uncommon is a serious and growing public health problem. This review examines the factors involved in the emergence or re-emergence of several mycotic diseases, including coccidioidomycosis and cryptococcosis, over the past two decades. New approaches to prevention and control are also discussed.

Comparison of multilocus sequence typing and Ca3 fingerprinting for molecular subtyping epidemiologically-related clinical isolates of Candida albicans.

Southern hybridization with the complex probe Ca3 is a well established tool for molecular subtyping of Candida albicans. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is a DNA sequence-based subtyping method recently applied to C. albicans and shown to have a high degree of intraspecies discriminatory power.

Evaluation of amphotericin B interpretive breakpoints for Candida bloodstream isolates by correlation with therapeutic outcome.

One hundred seven Candida bloodstream isolates (51 C. albicans, 24 C. glabrata, 13 C.

Candidemia in neonatal intensive care units: Barcelona, Spain.

Background: Candida spp. are increasingly important hospital-acquired pathogens in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and cause considerable mortality in preterm infants. Most studies have been limited to a single institution.

Assessment of ribosomal large-subunit D1-D2, internal transcribed spacer 1, and internal transcribed spacer 2 regions as targets for molecular identification of medically important Aspergillus species.

Molecular approaches are now being developed to provide a more rapid and objective identification of fungi compared to traditional phenotypic methods. Ribosomal targets, especially the large-subunit RNA gene (D1-D2 region) and internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2 regions), have shown particular promise for the molecular identification of some fungi. We therefore conducted an assessment of these regions for the identification of 13 medically important Aspergillus species: Aspergillus candidus, Aspergillus (Eurotium) chevalieri, Aspergillus (Fennellia) flavipes, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus granulosus, Aspergillus (Emericella) nidulans, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus restrictus, Aspergillus sydowii, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus ustus, and Aspergillus versicolor.

An epidemic of coccidioidomycosis in Arizona associated with climatic changes, 1998-2001.

Background: Reports of coccidioidomycosis cases in Arizona have increased substantially. We investigated factors associated with the increase.

Methods: We analyzed the National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance (NETSS) data from 1998 to 2001 and used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map high-incidence areas in Maricopa County.

Epidemiology and predictors of mortality in cases of Candida bloodstream infection: results from population-based surveillance, barcelona, Spain, from 2002 to 2003.

We conducted population-based surveillance for Candida bloodstream infections in Spain to determine its incidence, the extent of antifungal resistance, and risk factors for mortality. A case was defined as the first positive blood culture for any Candida spp. in a resident of Barcelona, from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2003.

Rapid acquisition of stable azole resistance by Candida glabrata isolates obtained before the clinical introduction of fluconazole.

Five azole-susceptible Candida glabrata isolates obtained before 1975 became resistant to fluconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole within 4 days of in vitro fluconazole exposure. This cross-resistance was stable for at least 4 months after removal of fluconazole and was associated with increased CgCDR1 and CgCDR2 expression.

In vitro susceptibilities of bloodstream isolates of Candida species to six antifungal agents: results from a population-based active surveillance programme, Barcelona, Spain, 2002-2003.

Objectives: The antifungal drug susceptibilities of 351 isolates of Candida species, obtained through active laboratory-based surveillance in the period January 2002-December 2003, were determined (Candida albicans 51%, Candida parapsilosis 23%, Candida tropicalis 10%, Candida glabrata 9%, Candida krusei 4%).

Methods: The MICs of amphotericin B, flucytosine, fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole and caspofungin were established by means of the broth microdilution reference procedure of the European Committee on Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing.

Results And Conclusions: Amphotericin B and flucytosine were active in vitro against all strains.

A large histoplasmosis outbreak among high school students in Indiana, 2001.

Background: A histoplasmosis outbreak occurred in an Indiana high school in November-December 2001.

Methods: To describe the risk factors for this outbreak, we conducted a cohort study of all available students and staff (N = 682) and an environmental investigation.

Results: Of the 523 (77%) persons who displayed serologic evidence of recent Histoplasma capsulatum infection, 355 (68%) developed symptoms consistent with acute pulmonary histoplasmosis.

Interlaboratory comparison of results of susceptibility testing with caspofungin against Candida and Aspergillus species.

Seventeen laboratories participated in a study of interlaboratory reproducibility with caspofungin microdilution susceptibility testing against panels comprising 30 isolates of Candida spp. and 20 isolates of Aspergillus spp. The laboratories used materials supplied from a single source to determine the influence of growth medium (RPMI 1640 with or without glucose additions and antibiotic medium 3 [AM3]), the same incubation times (24 h and 48 h), and the same end point definition (partial or complete inhibition of growth) for the MIC of caspofungin.

Candida parapsilosis characterization in an outbreak setting.

Candida parapsilosis is an important non-albicans species which infects hospitalized patients. No studies have correlated outbreak infections of C. parapsilosis with multiple virulence factors.

Coccidioidomycosis among workers at an archeological site, northeastern Utah.

In 2001, an outbreak of acute respiratory disease occurred among persons working at a Native American archeological site at Dinosaur National Monument in northeastern Utah. Epidemiologic and environmental investigations were undertaken to determine the cause of the outbreak. A clinical case was defined by the presence of at least two of the following symptoms: self-reported fever, shortness of breath, or cough.

Rapid quantification of drug resistance gene expression in Candida albicans by reverse transcriptase LightCycler PCR and fluorescent probe hybridization.

We developed a rapid, sensitive, and reproducible assay to quantify Candida albicans ACT1, CDR1, CDR2, ERG11, and MDR1 mRNA using a two-step reverse transcription and LightCycler real-time PCR (RT-LightCycler PCR) method with sequence-specific hybridization probes. We compared RT-LightCycler PCR with Northern hybridization for quantitative analysis of gene expression in isolates with various fluconazole susceptibilities. Specificity of each LightCycler PCR was verified by LightCycler melting curve analysis and agarose gel electrophoresis of amplified products.

Histoplasmosis associated with exploring a bat-inhabited cave in Costa Rica, 1998-1999.

Between October 1998 and April 1999, 51 persons belonging to two separate groups developed acute pulmonary histoplasmosis after visiting a cave in Costa Rica. The first group consisted of 61 children and 14 adults from San Jose, Costa Rica; 44 (72%) were diagnosed with acute histoplasmosis. The second group comprised 14 tourists from the United States and Canada; 9 (64%) were diagnosed with histoplasmosis.

Incidence of bloodstream infections due to Candida species and in vitro susceptibilities of isolates collected from 1998 to 2000 in a population-based active surveillance program.

To determine the incidence of Candida bloodstream infections (BSI) and antifungal drug resistance, population-based active laboratory surveillance was conducted from October 1998 through September 2000 in two areas of the United States (Baltimore, Md., and the state of Connecticut; combined population, 4.7 million).

Resolution of discrepant results for Candida species identification by using DNA probes.

Candida species bloodstream isolates were collected from institutions participating in an active, population-based surveillance for candidemia. Species identifications were performed locally and then confirmed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by phenotype-based methods. Discrepancies in species identification between the referring institution and the CDC were noted for 43 of 935 isolates (4.

A large outbreak of histoplasmosis among American travelers associated with a hotel in Acapulco, Mexico, spring 2001.

During spring 2001, college students from Pennsylvania reported an acute febrile respiratory illness after returning from spring break vacation in Acapulco, Mexico. Acute pulmonary histoplasmosis was presumptively diagnosed and the cluster of illness was reported to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. A large investigation then ensued, which included finding student-travelers for interviews and requesting sera for histoplasmosis testing.

Drug resistance genes and trailing growth in Candida albicans isolates.

Objectives: To investigate possible molecular mechanisms of azole resistance among fluconazole-susceptible bloodstream isolates of Candida albicans that displayed the trailing growth phenomenon, and to compare these isolates with bloodstream and mucosal isolates that showed reduced susceptibilities to fluconazole.

Methods: Twelve C. albicans isolates-seven trailing and five susceptible dose dependent (SDD) or resistant (R)-were screened for ERG11 mutations by DNA sequencing and quantification of ERG11, CDR1 and MDR1 expression by RT-PCR using the LightCycler high-speed PCR system.

Persistence of oropharyngeal Candida albicans strains with reduced susceptibilities to fluconazole among human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive children and adults in a long-term care facility.

Nineteen oropharyngeal Candida albicans isolates from six children and seven adults living with AIDS at the Russia AIDS Centre, Moscow, from 1990 to 1998 were selected for molecular typing. Two fluconazole-resistant C. albicans genotypes were identified from a child who contracted human immunodeficiency virus infection during the Elista Hospital outbreak in the Kalmyk Republic in 1989.