Search

We report a rare case of onychomycosis due to Arthrographis kalrae, and describe an attempt to elucidate the source of the infection by fungal isolation and PCR-based methods for detection of A. kalrae. The patient was a 63-year-old Japanese man, whose fingernails, excluding the right index finger, were markedly dystrophic. Microscopic examination of his fingernails disclosed hyaline hyphae and arthroconidia. The causal agent was identified as A. kalrae based on morphological characteristics and ITS region sequencing. The fungus was susceptible in vitro to terbinafine, itraconazole, and miconazole. A therapeutic trial of oral terbinafine, 125 mg/day and topical 1% miconazole for seven months brought about a complete cure of the ungual lesion. We found that A. kalrae could be detected at 1.1×104 CFU/g (92.4% incidence) in soil from the patient's garden. Furthermore, varying CFUs of A. kalrae were recovered in 61% of the samples obtained from crop field soils, commercially available soils or allied products for gardening. Since the patient was working with soil that harbored A. kalrae, the possibility of acquiring the infection from this source should not be excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the ecological niche of the human and animal pathogen Pythium insidiosum within endemic agricultural areas of Thailand. Samples were collected from irrigation water, including rice paddy fields, irrigation channels and reservoirs. Zoospores of P. insidiosum were captured from water by the use of a sterile human hair baiting technique. Pythium isolates were identified based on phenotypic characteristics and by using a specific PCR assay for P. insidiosum. In addition, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of P. insidiosum rDNA were sequenced and used in the phylogenetic analysis of 20 other known P. insidiosum DNA sequences available in the database and 11 related DNA sequences of other Pythium species including Lagenidium giganteum. The sequences of 59 environmental isolates of Pythium spp. recovered from Thailand confirmed 99% identity to P. insidiosum. Three well supported phylogenetic groups within P. insidiosum were found. The protein profiles of P. insidiosum environmental strains were determined and compared with reference strains. A typical 45-30 kDa band was consistently found in all isolates of P. insidiosum but not in closely related Pythium species. This study provides the first evidence for the natural occurrence of P. insidiosum in endemic aquatic environments. The highest recovery rate of this hydrophilic pathogen was found to be from water reservoirs and our data show that irrigation water may be an important source of P. insidiosum infection for individuals working in endemic agricultural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to report the regional distribution of Cryptococcus. gattii and Cryptococcus. neoformans in decayed wood inside trunk hollows of Syzygium cumini trees (Java plum, Indian black berry) investigated in Amritsar (Panjab), Meerut Cantt. and Bulandshahr (Uttar Pradesh) and Delhi, in north-western India. Two hundred and seventeen wood samples collected from 74 S. cumini trees were investigated. This includes 7 known positive S. cumini trees in Delhi subjected to a mycological surveillance for perennial colonization by C. gattii and C. neoformans. Cryptococcus gattii showed the highest prevalence (89%) in S. cumini trees in Delhi, followed by 27%, 12.5% and 9% prevalence in Bulandshahr, Amritsar City and Meerut Cantt., respectively. In contrast, C. neoformans had the highest prevalence (54%) in Amritsar, followed by 44% in Delhi, 9% in Bulandshahr and 0% in Meerut Cantt. Furthermore, 44% of the S. cumini trees in Delhi, 9% in Bulandshahr and 8% in Amritsar were concomitantly colonized by both C. gattii and C. neoformans. A mycological surveillance over 4.8–5.2 years of 7 selected S. cumini trees in Delhi revealed perennial colonization by both the Cryptococcus species. In addition, air samples taken close to the decayed trunk hollows of 4 of the perennially colonized S. cumini trees contained strains of the C. neoformans species complex. Of a random sample of 48 isolates serotyped, 26 (54%) were C. neoformans, serotype A, and 22 (46%) C. gattii, serotype B. Determination of mating type alleles was done in 44 of the isolates, comprising 31 of C. neoformans, serotype A and 13 of C.gattii, serotype B. All of them proved to be mating type α (MATα). The data on high prevalence, fungal population density, perennial colonization and aerial isolations indicate that decayed wood in trunk hollows of S. cumini trees is to-date the main well documented primary environmental niche of C. gattii and C. neoformans in north-western India. Attention is drawn to the likely health hazard posed by the environmental reservoirs of C. gattii and C. neoformans occurring in tree trunk hollows in proximity to human and animal habitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of swabbing versus a conventional sedimentation technique was evaluated for sampling of decayed wood in tree trunk hollows for isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans . Of 52 samples of decayed wood, bark or other plant debris originating from 35 living trees, 42 wood samples yielded C. neoformans . The positive samples included 40 collected from 31 Syzygium cumini trees growing along roadsides in Old Delhi, whereas the remaining two were from inside tree trunk fissures of Ficus religiosa in a New Delhi locality. The number of wood samples found positive by swabbing was 40 (95%) as opposed to 32 (76%) by the conventional technique, and this difference was statistically significant ( P <0.01). Also, the conventional technique showed 24% false-negative results, which was in striking contrast to only 5% by swabbing. Furthermore, swabbing yielded a significantly higher C. neoformans mean colony count than did the conventional technique ( P <0.005), thus highlighting greater efficacy of the former technique. The overall prevalence of C. neoformans in the S. cumini trees investigated was 84% (26/31 trees) which is the highest as yet reported from any tree species in India. Varietal identification and serotyping was done with 33 of the C. neoformans isolates, 31 of which came from 23 tree trunk hollows of S. cumini and two from the tree trunk fissures of F. religiosa . Among the S. cumini isolates, 26 were identified as C. neoformans var. gattii (all serotype B except two untypeable ones) and five as C. neoformans var. neoformans , serotype A (= C. neoformans var. grubii ). Both of the F. religiosa isolates belonged to C. n. var . neoformans , serotype A. Being a more efficacious, simple, less time-consuming and less hazardous technique, swabbing is recommended for wider use in order to further elucidate the ecology of C. neoformans . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]