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The environmental distribution of Aspergillus fumigatus in 2 cane-sugar mills and one paper factory in northern India is compared with 2 localities in Delhi. The preponderance of the species at the U.D. Sugar Mills, Shamli, was contrary to its low prevalence in the University of Delhi campus and at Subzimandi, the vegetable and fruit market of Delhi. Aspergillus fumigatus accounted for 42.5% of the total aerial fungal colony counts recorded in the Shamli Mills as against 2% in Delhi. The predominant aerial fungus at Subzimandi was A. niger whereas aspergilli were overwhelmingly outnumbered by other fungi in the University of Delhi campus. Within the Shamli Mills, the bagasse-containing sites had a significantly higher aerial prevalence (50.3%) of A. fumigatus than the bagasse-free sites (13.5%). Furthermore, A. fumigatus was more prevalent in the operational (57.2%) than in the non-operational period (23.8%) of the mills. The high frequency of isolations of A. fumigatus from and its dense population in su...

Mycetoma of the knee, caused by Nocardia caviae and idangosed by culture and histopathology, occurred in a 20 year old farmer from a rural area of Varanasi District in Uttar Pradesh, India. The isolate was pathogenic to mice and it showed close agreement with the standard description of the species. It is suggested that infection due to this species has a higher prevalence than is currently recognized.

Candida viswanathii has been isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of a 20 year old male patient suffering from meningitis which ended fatally. The fungus proved pathogenic to cortisone treated mice but was poorly so to the normal mice challenged intravenously.

The effect of cortisone on bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in experimental mice forced to inhale aerosols of dry and viable spores of 6 Aspergillus species was investigated. A significant enhancement in mortality and tissue invasion due to all the test species: — A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. nidulans, A. nidulans var. dentatus, A. niger, A. tamarii and A. terreus was observed in the cortisone treated animals.