ABSTRACT
Neoscytalidium dimidiatum is an opportunistic fungus causing cutaneous infections mostly, which are difficult to treat due to antifungal resistance. In Malaysia, N. dimidiatum is associated with skin and nail infections, especially in the elderly. These infections may be mistaken for dermatophyte infections due to similar clinical appearance. In this study, Neoscytalidium isolates from cutaneous specimens, identified using morphological and molecular methods (28 Neoscytalidium dimidiatum and 1 Neoscytalidium sp.), were evaluated for susceptibility towards antifungal agents using the CLSI broth microdilution (M38-A2) and Etest methods. Amphotericin B, voriconazole, miconazole and clotrimazole showed high in vitro activity against all isolates with MIC ranging from 0.0313 to 1 µg/mL. Susceptibility towards fluconazole and itraconazole was noted in up to 10% of isolates, while ketoconazole was inactive against all isolates. Clinical breakpoints for antifungal drugs are not yet available for most filamentous fungi, including Neoscytalidium species. However, the results indicate that clinical isolates of N. dimidiatum in Malaysia were sensitive towards miconazole, clotrimazole, voriconazole and amphotericin B, in vitro.
Subject(s)
Antifungal Agents/pharmacology , Ascomycota/drug effects , Dermatomycoses/microbiology , Ascomycota/isolation & purification , Humans , Malaysia , Microbial Sensitivity TestsABSTRACT
Candida wangnamkhiaoensis is a species clustered under the Hyphopichia clade has not ever been isolated from any clinical specimens. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of C. wangnamkhiaoensis associated with fungaemia in immunocompromised paediatric patient. The isolate was assigned a strain name as UZ1679/14, in which the identification was confirmed by a polymerase chain reaction-sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) regions of the rRNA gene. Antifungal susceptibility pattern showed that the isolate was sensitive to anidulafungin, caspofungin, fluconazole and voriconazole. The patient clinically improved after the antifungal treatment with caspofungin.
Subject(s)
Candida/isolation & purification , Candidemia/microbiology , Immunocompromised Host , Anidulafungin , Antifungal Agents/pharmacology , Candida/classification , Candida/genetics , Candida/ultrastructure , Candidemia/drug therapy , Candidemia/immunology , Caspofungin , Child, Preschool , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer , Echinocandins/pharmacology , Echinocandins/therapeutic use , Fluconazole/pharmacology , Humans , Hyphae/isolation & purification , Hyphae/ultrastructure , Lipopeptides/pharmacology , Lipopeptides/therapeutic use , Male , Phylogeny , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Sequence Alignment , Voriconazole/pharmacologyABSTRACT
The number of new fungal pathogens is increasing due to growing population of immunocompromised patients and advanced identification techniques. Fereydounia khargensis is a yeast and was first described in 2014 from environmental samples. As far as we know, this is the first report of human infections associated with F. khargensis. The yeasts were isolated from blood of a HIV-positive patient and pleural fluid of chronic renal failure patient. Amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer and the large subunit regions confirmed the identity of the isolates. Both isolates showed multi-drug resistance to antifungal agents tested.
Subject(s)
Basidiomycota/drug effects , Basidiomycota/isolation & purification , Drug Resistance, Multiple, Fungal , Mycoses/diagnosis , Mycoses/pathology , Adult , Antifungal Agents/pharmacology , Blood/microbiology , DNA, Fungal/chemistry , DNA, Fungal/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/chemistry , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/genetics , HIV Infections/complications , Humans , Male , Microbiological Techniques , Microscopy , Middle Aged , Mycoses/microbiology , Pleural Effusion/microbiology , Renal Insufficiency/complications , Sequence Analysis, DNAABSTRACT
Trichosporon species are opportunistic yeasts which can cause infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. This is a report of Trichosporon ovoides that caused subcutaneous infection in a patient with underlying ischemic heart disease. The identification of fungal isolate was confirmed by PCR sequencing of ITS and large subunit regions in rRNA gene. In vitro susceptibility study showed that the isolate was susceptible to amphotericin B, fluconazole and voriconazole, and resistant to caspofungin, anidulafungin and itraconazole. The lesion improved after treatment with oral fluconazole and topical miconazole.
Subject(s)
Antifungal Agents/therapeutic use , Dermatomycoses/drug therapy , Immunocompromised Host , Opportunistic Infections/drug therapy , Trichosporon/drug effects , Trichosporonosis/drug therapy , DNA, Intergenic/genetics , Dermatomycoses/microbiology , Female , Fluconazole/therapeutic use , Humans , Miconazole/therapeutic use , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Middle Aged , Opportunistic Infections/microbiology , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Trichosporon/genetics , Trichosporon/isolation & purification , Trichosporonosis/microbiologyABSTRACT
An 11-year-old girl presented with multiple blisters on her the right foot complicated with cellulitis. The conventional and molecular identification were performed on the culture. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region in rRNA gene of the isolate was amplified by PCR. The sequence of the amplified ITS region matched 99 % with that of Chaetomium globosum in the GenBank. This is the first report describing C. globosum causing cutaneous infection in Malaysia.
Subject(s)
Cellulitis/diagnosis , Cellulitis/pathology , Chaetomium/classification , Chaetomium/isolation & purification , Dermatomycoses/diagnosis , Dermatomycoses/pathology , Molecular Diagnostic Techniques , Base Sequence , Cellulitis/etiology , Cellulitis/microbiology , Chaetomium/genetics , Child , DNA, Fungal/chemistry , DNA, Fungal/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/chemistry , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/genetics , Dermatomycoses/complications , Dermatomycoses/microbiology , Female , Humans , Malaysia , Microbiological Techniques , Microscopy , Molecular Sequence Data , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Sequence Homology, Nucleic AcidABSTRACT
Prototheca wickerhamii isolated from blood of 61-year-old kidney transplant patient was described. Although it is classified as an alga (genus Chlorella), the disease, protothecosis, is included under mycoses because of its clinical pathological presentations. Colony characteristics of P. wickerhamii are indistinguishable from other yeast-like organisms like Cryptococcus and Candida. Fortunately, commercial identification system for yeast can be used to identify this organism to the species level. Electron microscopy demonstrated "morula" or daisy-like appearance of its endosporulating sporangia. The organism was sensitive to amphotericin B by E test method. Even though human protothecosis is uncommon, it cannot be ignored because it is emerging as an opportunistic infection in immunosuppressed individuals. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of disseminated algaemia due to P. wickerhamii in Malaysia.
