Laboratory practices for the diagnosis and management of mucormycosis in France, 2024.

This study investigates the diagnostic practices for mucormycosis among 30 French University Hospital mycology laboratories, in 2024. All laboratories perform both direct examination and culture, with fluorescent brighteners being the most commonly used method for direct examination. While 77 % of the participating laboratories routinely identify Mucorales to the species level, with 70 % having adopted Mucorales-specific quantitative PCR, primarily for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections.

Description of a Murine Model of Pneumocystis Pneumonia.

Pneumocystis pneumonia is a serious lung infection caused by an original ubiquitous fungus with opportunistic behavior, referred to as Pneumocystis jirovecii. P. jirovecii is the second most common fungal agent among invasive fungal infections after Candida spp.

The epidemiology of invasive fungal infections in transplant recipients.

Transplant patients, including solid-organ transplant (SOT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients, are exposed to various types of complications, particularly rejection. To prevent these outcomes, transplant recipients commonly receive long-term immunosuppressive regimens that in turn make them more susceptible to a wide array of infectious diseases, notably those caused by opportunistic pathogens. Among these, invasive fungal infections (IFIs) remain a major cause of mortality and morbidity in both SOT and HSCT recipients.

Evaluation of a computational model for mycetoma-causative agents identification.

Background: The therapeutic strategy for mycetoma relies heavily on the identification of the causative agents, which are either fungal or bacterial. While histopathological examination of surgical biopsies is currently the most used diagnostic tool, it requires well-trained pathologists, who are lacking in most rural areas where mycetoma is endemic. In this work we propose and evaluate a machine learning approach that semi-automatically analyses histopathological microscopic images of grains and provides a classification of the disease as eumycetoma or actinomycetoma.

Deep-seated dermatophytosis caused by Trichophyton rubrum in patient with Becker muscular dystrophy.

Trichophyton rubrum is a common fungal pathogen that usually causes superficial infection limited to epidermis only, so called dermatophytosis. However in immunocompromised patients, dermatophytosis can be exceptionally more invasive with extensive lesions involving deep tissues and generating sometimes systemic course. We report the case of a 43-year-old heart transplanted man, who presented with multiple deep-seated nodules and papules in the inguinal areas and in the buttocks.

Predictors for Prolonged Hospital Stay Solely to Complete Intravenous Antifungal Treatment in Patients with Candidemia: Results from the ECMM Candida III Multinational European Observational Cohort Study.

Background: To date, azoles represent the only viable option for oral treatment of invasive Candida infections, while rates of azole resistance among non-albicans Candida spp. continue to increase. The objective of this sub-analysis of the European multicenter observational cohort study Candida III was to describe demographical and clinical characteristics of the cohort requiring prolonged hospitalization solely to complete intravenous (iv) antifungal treatment (AF Tx).

Invasive fungal diseases in patients with autoimmune diseases: a case series from the French RESSIF network.

Objectives: We aimed to describe patients with autoimmune diseases (AID) developing invasive fungal disease (IFD) and identify factors associated with short-term mortality.

Methods: We analysed cases of IFD associated with AID from the surveillance network of invasive fungal diseases (Réseau de surveillance des infections fongiques invasives, RESSIF) registry of the French national reference centre for invasive mycoses. We studied association of AID-specific treatments with 30-day mortality.

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Introduction : Traveling regularly to malaria endemic areas increasingly exposes travelers to various risks which could be mitigated by a pre-travel health consultation. The objective was to study the impact of advice provided during a pre-travel consultation on travelers’ behaviors and practices to identify travelers’ profiles and adapt the prevention recommendations before trave-ling to intertropical zones.Methods : Two self-assessment questionnaires (Q1-before and Q2-after travelling) were proposed to 271 individuals over 5 months of traveler consultations to assess behaviors (Q1) and practices (Q2).

Multiplex PCR assay targeting Trichomonas vaginalis: need for biological evaluation and interpretation.

In a retrospective study, we used sequencing to investigate Trichomonas vaginalis-positive specimens (genital, rectal and pharyngeal) with the Allplex™ STI Essential or the Anyplex™-II-STI-7 assays. Our results confirm that majority of T. vaginalis-positive genital and pharyngeal specimens contained T.

Challenges to establish the diagnosis of aspergillosis in non-laboratory animals: looking for alternatives in veterinary medicine and demonstration of feasibility through two concrete examples in penguins and dolphins.

Aspergillosis remains difficult to diagnose in animals. Laboratory-based assays are far less developed than those for human medicine, and only few studies have been completed to validate their utility in routine veterinary diagnostics. To overcome the current limitations, veterinarians and researchers have to propose alternative methods including extrapolating from human diagnostic tools and using innovative technology.

Cryptococcal Meningitis in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Two-Decade Cohort Study in France.

Cryptococcosis is the third most common cause of invasive fungal infection in solid organ transplant recipients and cryptococcal meningitis (CM) its main clinical presentation. CM outcomes, as well as its clinical features and radiological characteristics, have not yet been considered on a large scale in the context of kidney transplantation (KT). We performed a nationwide retrospective study of adult patients diagnosed with cryptococcosis after KT between 2002 and 2020 across 30 clinical centers in France.

Aspergillosis in a colony of Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) under managed care: a clinical and environmental investigation in a French zoological park.

Aspergillosis is pervasive in bird populations, especially those under human care. Its management can be critically impacted by exposure to high levels of conidia and by resistance to azole drugs. The fungal contamination in the environment of a Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) group, housed in a French zoological park next to numerous large crop fields, was assessed through three serial sessions of surface sampling in nests, in 2018-20: all isolates were counted and characterized by sequencing.

Assessment of the Safety and Efficacy of an Oral Probiotic-Based Vaccine Against Aspergillus Infection in Captive-Bred Humboldt Penguins ().

Aspergillosis is a fungal infection caused mainly by that often results in respiratory disease in birds. Aspergillosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in captive-bred penguin species. Currently, there is no registered vaccine to prevent aspergillosis.

The Novodiag Stool parasites assay, an innovative high-plex technique for fast detection of protozoa, helminths and microsporidia in stool samples: a retrospective and prospective study.

Objectives: We provide the first evaluation of the CE-IVD marked Novodiag stool parasites assay (NVD), allowing rapid and high-plex detection of 26 distinct targets, encompassing protozoans, helminths and microsporidia in stool samples.

Methods: A total of 254 samples (n = 205 patients) were prospectively processed by the NVD and our routine procedure (RP). Performances of the NVD were compared with RP.