Olga Fischman

Antifungal Susceptibilities, Varieties, and Electrophoretic Karyotypes of Clinical Isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans from Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela

ABSTRACT One hundred clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and non-HIV-infected patients from Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela were separated according to varieties and tested for antifungal susceptibility. A high susceptibility to antifungal agents was observed among all the isolates. The electrophoretic karyotyping of 51 strains revealed good discrimination among Cryptococcus neoformansvar. neoformans strains.

Onychomycosis caused by Fusarium solani and Fusarium oxysporum in São Paulo, Brazil

Fusarium species are common soil saprophytes and plant pathogens that have been frequently reported as etiologic agents of opportunistic infections in humans. We report eight cases of onychomycosis caused by Fusarium solani (4) and Fusarium oxysporum (4) in São Paulo, Brazil. These species were isolated from toenails in all cases. The infections were initially considered to be caused by dermatophytes. The clinical appearance of the affected toenails was leukonychia or distal subungual hyperkeratosis with yellowish brown coloration. The eight cases reported here suggest that Fusarium spp. should be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis of tinea unguium.

Disseminated dermatophytosis caused by Microsporum gypseum in two patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Microsporum gypseum is not a common agent of human dermatophytosis. To the best of our knowledge, this fungus has not been described in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. We report a tinea corporis infection with atypical presentation caused by M. gypseum in two patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) studied at the São Paulo Hospital (São Paulo, Brazil).

Mycoflora of the toxic feeds associated with equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) outbreaks in Brazil

The mycoflora of 39 feed samples associated with 29 Equine Leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) outbreaks was studied from 1988 to 1990, in Brazil. Microbiological examination indicatedFusarium spp. as the most frequent mold which occurred in 97.4% of samples followed byPenicillium spp. in 61.5% andAspergillus spp. in 35.9%. The moisture content of feed implicated in death of horses was above 15% which can favor the development ofFusarium spp. From the genus,F. moniliforme was the predominant species with an occurrence of 82.0%. Two additional species, not commonly associated with animal toxicosis, were isolated in low frequency,F. proliferatum (12.8%) andF. subglutinans (2.6%). It is important to emphasize that the isolation ofF. proliferatum andF. subglutinans from feed obtained from the epizootic areas has not been documented previously in Brazil.

Isolation of Malassezia furfur from patients with onychomycosis

Malassezia furfur (Pityrosporum ovale IP. orbiculare) was found microscopically and by culture in the nails in 14 of 370 patients seen for treatment of onychomycosis in São Paulo, Brazil. The clinical features, predisposing factors and laboratory diagnosis are discussed.

Paracoccidioides brasilienses isolates obtained from patients with acute and chronic disease exhibit morphological differences after animal passage

The basis for virulence in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is not completely understood. There is a consensus that the sequential in vitro subcultivation of P. brasiliensis leads to loss of its pathogenicity, which can be reverted by reisolation from animal passage. Attention to morphological and biochemical properties that are regained or demonstrated after animal passage may provide new insights into factors related to the pathogenicity and virulence of P. brasiliensis. We evaluated morphological characters: the percentage of budding cells, number of buds by cell and the diameter of 100 mother cells of yeast-like cells of 30 P. brasiliensis isolates, before and after animal passage. The isolates were obtained from patients with different clinical forms of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM): acute form (group A, n=15) and chronic form (group C, n=15). The measurement of the yeast cell sizes was carried out with the aid of an Olympus CBB microscope coupled with a micrometer disc. We measured the major transverse and longitudinal axes of 100 viable cells of each preparation. The percentage of budding cells as also the number of buds by cell was not influenced by animal passage, regardless of the source of the strain (acute or chronic groups). The size values of P. brasiliensis isolates from groups A and C, measured before the animal passage exhibited the same behavior. After animal passage, there was a statistically significant difference between the cell sizes of P. brasiliensis isolates recovered from testicles inoculated with strains from groups A and C. The maximum diameter of mother cells from group A isolates exhibited a size of 42.1 microm in contrast with 32.9 microm exhibited by mother cells from group C (p<0.05). The diameter of 1500 mother cells from group A isolates exhibited a medium size of 16.0 microm (SD +/- 4.0), a value significantly higher than the 14.1 microm (SD = +/- 3.3) exhibited by 1500 mother cells from group C isolates (p<0.05). Our results reinforce the polymorphism exhibited by P. brasiliensis in biological material and the need for further investigations to elucidate the role of morphological parameters of the fungus in the natural history of the disease.

Cromoblastomicose produzida por Fonsecaea pedrosoi no Estado do Maranhão. I - aspectos clínicos, epidemiológicos e evolutivos

The aim of this study was to observe the clinical and of epidemiological behavior of chromoblastomycosis in the State of Maranhao. A retrospective and prospective study ofl 3 cases was performed at the infectious diseases section of the Hospital dos Servidores do Estado do Maranhao, from November, 1988 to July, 1991. In the investigation a protocol record was used with a view to further analysis. A higher prevalence betweem 50 and 60 years of age (46.1%) and in male patients (92.3%) was noted. Twelve patients (92.3%) were from Maranhao State, and 10 of them (76.9%) came from the Western Microregion of the State of Maranhao. Regarding occupation, 92.3 % were landworkers, and most of them presented the lesions on the lower limbs (84.6%) of a vegetant warty aspect, brown in color with itching. Histopathological exammination diagnosed chromomycosis in 100% of the cases. Culture was performed in 11 cases, and Fonsecaea pedrosoi isolated in 9 of them. Treatment with 5-fluorocytosine resulted in a good evolutive response. This study indicates the existence of a probable endemic area of chromomycosis in hinterland of Maranhao (Western Microregion) that hither to unknown.

Use of morpho-physiological characteristics for differentiation of the species of Prototheca

Fifty-two cultures of Prototheca spp. isolated from water and 7 isolates received from a culture collection were tested for their ability to assimilate carbon and nitrogen sources. Based upon these findings and on micromorphological features of the isolates a rapid method allowing differentiation of Prototheca spp. in culture is presented.

Paracoccidioidomicose em índios brasileiros da tribo Suruí: estudo clínico-laboratorial de 2 casos

Paracoccidioidomycosis has been considered the most frequent endemic systemic mycosis in Latin America. Although most cases of paracoccidioidomycosis involve rural workers, this systemic fungal disease has been scarcely reported among Amerindian populations from Brazil. We report two cases of paracoccidioidomycosis in Tupi-Monde Amerindians from Cacoal, state of Rondonia, Brazil. Both cases exhibited positive serological results by a specific immunodiffusion test only when the assay was performed with antigens obtained from the mycelial form of P. brasiliensis. The authors present a literature review of paracoccidioidomycosis in Brazilian Amerindians and discuss the need for further investigations about the impact of the antigenic diversity of P. brasiliensis from different geographic areas on the serological diagnosis of PCM.Paracoccidioidomycosis has been considered the most frequent endemic systemic mycosis in Latin America. Although most cases of paracoccidioidomycosis involve rural workers, this systemic fungal disease has been scarcely reported among Amerindian populations from Brazil. We report two cases of paracoccidioidomycosis in Tupi-Monde Amerindians from Cacoal, state of Rondonia, Brazil. Both cases exhibited positive serological results by a specific immunodiffusion test only when the assay was performed with antigens obtained from the mycelial form of P. brasiliensis. The authors present a literature review of paracoccidioidomycosis in Brazilian Amerindians and discuss the need for further investigations about the impact of the antigenic diversity of P. brasiliensis from different geographic areas on the serological diagnosis of PCM. Key-words: Paracoccidioidomycosis. Surui. P. brasiliensis. Disciplina de Biologia Celular, Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Disciplinas de Endocrinologia e de Doencas Infecciosas e Parasitarias, Departamento de Medicina, Escola Paulista de Medicina-Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo. Endereco para correspondencia: Prof. Arnaldo Lopes Colombo. Disciplina de Doencas Infecciosas e Parasitarias/EPM/UNIFESP. R. Napoleao de Barros 715/7 andar, 04023-062 Sao Paulo, SP. Telefax: 55 11 549-6585/572-6348 Email: lemidipa@ruralsp.com.br Recebido para publicacao em 10/7/98. A paracoccidioidomicose (Pbmicose) e micose sistemica de evolucao subaguda ou cronica, com predominio de incidencia em adultos do sexo masculino, habitantes ou trabalhadores de zona rural, sendo endemica em quase todos os estados brasileiros9 13 14. A Pbmicose entre os indigenas da Amazonia brasileira foi reconhecida atraves de inqueritos epidemiologicos por testes cutâneos e sorologicos a partir de 197815 16. Recentemente, Coimbra Jr et al conduziram inquerito cutâneo com paracoccidioidina e histoplasmina entre indios das tribos Surui, Gaviao e Zoros, da familia linguistica Tupi-Monde, Amazonia Ocidental, identificando reatores positivos em 43,8%, 6,4% e 14,9% da populacao investigada nas respectivas tribos6. Alves et al1 realizaram pesquisa sorologica de paracoccidioidomicose entre indios

Skin colonization by Malassezia furfur in healthy children up to 15 years old.

The prevalence ofM. furfur, a lipodependent fungus, in the skin of 0 to 15-year-old healthy children was studied. Sterilized carpet was used to collect skin samples which were cultured in Oxgall medium (Difco) with 1% olive oil and incubated for 10 days at 37 °C.M. furfur was recovered in 17.8% of infants, with similar findings in both sexes. The highest prevalence ofM. furfur colonization was found among children of 0 to 18 months and 11 to 15-year-olds, with 23.3% and 26.7% respectively.