Candidemia is the predominant form of invasive candidiasis and the most frequently occurring serious fungal infection in critically ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU). Studies carried out in Latin America reveal a higher incidence of candidemia and higher mortality rates when compared to North America or Europe. This highlights the need to develop guidelines for correctly diagnosing and treating candidemia in critically ill patients in the ICU.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mucormycosis is an aggressive, invasive fungal infection caused by moulds in the order Mucorales. Early diagnosis is key to improving patient prognosis, yet relies on insensitive culture or non-specific histopathology. A pan-Mucorales specific monoclonal antibody (mAb), TG11, was recently developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Escalation of chemical disinfection during the COVID-19 pandemic has raised occupational hazard concerns. Alternative and potentially safer methods such as ultraviolet-C (UVC) irradiation and ozone have been proposed, notwithstanding the lack of standardized criteria for their use in the healthcare environment.
Aim: Compare the virucidal activity of 70% ethanol, sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC), chlorhexidine, ozonated water, UVC-222 nm, UVC-254 nm against three SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern cultured .
Mycoses
January 2024
Background: Damage due to respiratory viruses increases the risk of bacterial and fungal coinfections and superinfections. High rates of invasive aspergillosis are seen in severe influenza and COVID-19. This report describes CAPA cases diagnosed during the first wave in the biggest reference centre for severe COVID-19 in Mexico.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembers of the species complex are able to cause superficial and life-threatening systemic infections with low susceptibility to azoles and echinocandins. We tested 130 bloodstream complex isolates collected from eight Latin American medical centers over 18 years (period 1 = 2000-2008 and period 2 = 2009-2018) to investigate trends in species distribution and antifungal resistance. The isolates were identified by rDNA ITS region sequencing, and antifungal susceptibility tests were performed against fluconazole, voriconazole, anidulafungin, and amphotericin B using the CLSI microbroth method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalassezia are the dominant commensal yeast species of the human skin microbiota and are associated with inflammatory skin diseases, such as atopic eczema (AE). The Mala s 1 allergen of Malassezia sympodialis is a β-propeller protein, inducing both IgE and T-cell reactivity in AE patients. We demonstrate by immuno-electron microscopy that Mala s 1 is mainly located in the M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCandida auris can persist for long periods on hospital surfaces and on the skin. C. auris has the ability to form drug-resistant biofilms, which can substantially impact on patient outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFORF3a has been identified as a viroporin of SARS-CoV-2 and is known to be involved in various pathophysiological activities including disturbance of cellular calcium homeostasis, inflammasome activation, apoptosis induction and disruption of autophagy. ORF3a-targeting antibodies may specifically and favorably modulate these viroporin-dependent pathological activities. However, suitable viroporin-targeting antibodies are difficult to generate because of the well-recognized technical challenge associated with isolating antibodies to complex transmembrane proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM) has emerged as a challenging complication as the current pandemic has increased the population requiring treatment with corticosteroids. CAM has caused a massive outbreak in India, reported to be causing cases in Iran, Egypt and The Netherlands.
Objectives: To describe CAM cases occurring in a single centre in Western Mexico.
Teaching and learning anatomy by using human cadaveric specimens has been a foundation of medical and biomedical teaching for hundreds of years. Therefore, the majority of institutions that teach topographical anatomy rely on body donation programmes to provide specimens for both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching of gross anatomy. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to anatomy teaching because of the suspension of donor acceptance at most institutions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFspecies are a major part of the normal mycobiota and colonize mainly sebum-rich skin regions of the body. This group of fungi cause a variety of infections such as pityriasis versicolor, folliculitis, and fungaemia. In particular, and its allergens have been associated with non-infective inflammatory diseases such as seborrheic dermatitis and atopic eczema.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn increasing number of outbreaks due to resistant non-albicans Candida species have been reported worldwide. Between 2014 and 2016, Candida isolates causing invasive candidiasis were recovered in a Mexican hospital. Isolates were identified to species level and antifungal susceptibility was determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLower respiratory infections are the most important cause of death due to a transmissible disease. We present a case of severe influenza and coccidioidomycosis lung coinfection in a 65-year-old Mexican migrant. This case highlights the challenges that respiratory viruses impose on the diagnosis of fungal infections and on the multidisciplinary management of these infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMucormycosis is a difficult to diagnose rare disease with high morbidity and mortality. Diagnosis is often delayed, and disease tends to progress rapidly. Urgent surgical and medical intervention is lifesaving.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman skin fungal infections (SFIs) affect 25% of the world's population. Most of these infections are superficial. The main limitation of current animal models of human superficial SFIs is that clinical presentation is different between the different species and animal models do not accurately reflect the human skin environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) affect >1.5 million people per year. Nevertheless, IFIs are usually neglected and underdiagnosed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn individuals with HIV/AIDS, 47% of the deaths are attributed to invasive fungal infections (IFIs), despite antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. This is a retrospective study carried out in the Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad Oaxaca (HRAEO), southwest Mexico, where IFIs that occurred during 2016⁻2017 are described. A total of 55 individuals were included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetabolic control improves outcomes associated with mucormycosis. The aim of this study was to compare the in vitro proliferation of Rhizopus oryzae in blood of individuals with and without diabetes at different glycaemic levels. Ninety-five individuals were included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMucormycosis is an emerging infectious disease with high rates of associated mortality and morbidity. Little is known about the characteristics of mucormycosis or entomophthoromycosis occurring in Mexico. A search strategy was performed of literature published in journals found in available databases and theses published online at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) library website reporting clinical cases or clinical case series of mucormycosis and entomophthoromycosis occurring in Mexico between 1982 and 2016.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith increased use of expanded-spectrum triazoles for antifungal prophylaxis, the epidemiology of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) continues to evolve. To define the contemporary epidemiology of IFIs in this population, we reviewed all European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Mycoses Study Group proven and probable IFIs in adults transplanted from 2002 to 2011 and determined the incidence and risk factors for IFI and post-IFI mortality. All patients received antifungal prophylaxis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Larger populations at risk, broader use of antibiotics and longer hospital stays have impacted on the incidence of Candida sp. bloodstream infections (CBSI).
Objective: To determine clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of patients with CBSI in two tertiary care reference medical institutions in Mexico City.
The pathogenic role of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) has increased during the past two decades in Latin America and worldwide, and the number of patients at risk has risen dramatically. Working habits and leisure activities have also been a focus of attention by public health officials, as endemic mycoses have provoked a number of outbreaks. An extensive search of medical literature from Latin America suggests that the incidence of IFIs from both endemic and opportunistic fungi has increased.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF