Title:Paracoccidioides spp. and Histoplasma capsulatum: Current and New Perspectives for Diagnosis and Treatment
Volume: 18
Issue: 15
Author(s): C.P. Taborda*, R. Buccheri, G. Benard, A.N. Duarte-Neto, J.D. Nosanchuk and L.R. Travassos
Affiliation:
- Laboratory of Medical Mycology, Tropical Medicine Institute USP-LIM53/Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP,Brazil
Keywords:
Chronic disease, Histoplasmosis, Infection, Paracoccidioidomycosis, AIDs, Penicillium.
Abstract: The thermally-dimorphic systemic fungal group includes several important human pathogens:
Blastomyces dermatitides, Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii, Histoplasma capsulatum, Paracoccidioides
brasiliensis, P. lutzii, and Talaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei. They usually are geographically
restricted and have natural habitats in soil or in plants, and when fungal propagules invade mammalian
host by inhalation, they initiate an inflammatory reaction that can result in self-resolution of the
infection or cause an acute or chronic disease. In the setting of the AIDS pandemic and the developments
in modern medicine, such as immunosuppressive therapy in cancer surgery patients and in transplantation
and autoimmune diseases, the incidence of endemic mycoses has progressively increased. Another important
factor of the increased incidence of systemic mycoses in certain regions is the progressive devastation
of tropical and subtropical forests. In this review, we focus on two of the most important systemic
mycoses: paracoccidioidomycosis and histoplasmosis, and their major characteristics in epidemiology,
clinical aspects and laboratorial diagnosis.
