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Mucormycosis
Published in Srijan Goswami, Chiranjeeb Dey, COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, 2022
Soumyajit Dutta, Srijan Goswami
COVID-associated mucormycosis does not spread from one person to another. The fungus may enter the body through inhalation or the ingestion of spores that are present in the surrounding environment. These fungal spores only survive in an environment containing dead and decaying organic matter. So, an individual having diseased and decaying organic matter in their system has increased chances of developing complications of mucormycosis. The fungal spores may also enter the body through injuries or breaks on skin surfaces like abscesses, burns, lacerated wounds, cuts, or any type of injuries caused on the skin. Also, many non-sterile medical devices and objects like hospital linen, wound dressing bandages, tongue depressors, negative pressure rooms, and buildings may contain the spores. The infection is commonly visible in the rhino-cerebral context as the spore enters the system through the upper respiratory tract. Individuals suffering or recovering from severe COVID-19 or other life-threatening illnesses like acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS), diabetes, immunosuppressive treatments, cancers, and respiratory complications are at higher risk of contracting opportunistic fungal infections like mucormycosis (Cornely et al., 2019; Shakir et al., 2021; Chauhan et al., 2021; CDC, 2021; ICMR, 2021; Pongas et al., 2009; Lewis et al., 2011; Trifilio et al., 2007; AIIMS, 2021) (Figure 11.3).
Aerobiology for the Clinician
Published in Pudupakkam K Vedanthan, Harold S Nelson, Shripad N Agashe, PA Mahesh, Rohit Katial, Textbook of Allergy for the Clinician, 2021
The term Aerobiology was coined in the 1930s by F.C. Meier who was a plant pathologist in the Department of Agriculture, USA. Aerobiology is the study of airborne particles of plant and animal origin. These bio-particles get into the atmosphere after their release from the source. Prominent among the airborne particles are pollen grains and fungal spores. Pollen grains induce pollination and fertilization which lead to fruit setting and multiplication of plants. Fungal spores aid in the reproduction of fungi. Some of the airborne pollen and spores when inhaled by human beings produce allergic reactions.
Neuroinfectious Diseases
Published in Philip B. Gorelick, Fernando D. Testai, Graeme J. Hankey, Joanna M. Wardlaw, Hankey's Clinical Neurology, 2020
Jeremy D. Young, Jesica A. Herrick, Scott Borgetti
Coccidioides spp. are dimorphic fungi, ubiquitous in the topsoil of endemic areas. Fungal spores become airborne with disruption of dry soil from construction, wind storms, earthquakes, and other phenomena. After humans inhale the arthroconidia, there is transformation in the lung to the characteristic spherules. These spherules enlarge, rupture, and release endospores that can gain access to the bloodstream and disseminate to multiple organs, including the meninges of the brain and spinal cord.
Rural environment reduces allergic inflammation by modulating the gut microbiota
Published in Gut Microbes, 2022
Zhaowei Yang, Zhong Chen, Xinliu Lin, Siyang Yao, Mo Xian, Xiaoping Ning, Wanyi Fu, Mei Jiang, Naijian Li, Xiaojun Xiao, Mulin Feng, Zexuan Lian, Wenqing Yang, Xia Ren, Zhenyu Zheng, Jiefeng Zhao, Nili Wei, Wenju Lu, Marjut Roponen, Bianca Schaub, Gary W. K. Wong, Zhong Su, Charles Wang, Jing Li
Children spend much time indoors. Indoor microbial communities are influenced by the outdoor environment (e.g., agricultural activities), indoor sources (e.g., building materials), and human and animal occupants.7,8 “House dust” is the main reservoir of bacteria and fungal spores in the domestic environment. The house dust microbiota reflects the indoor environment and is associated with the etiology of allergic diseases.9 The indoor microbiota studied during a child’s infancy, has been linked to asthmatic risk in children aged 10.5 years.10 In contrast, the indoor farm microbiota of non-farm households showed a protective effect against asthma in children.11 Farm dust and bacterial lipopolysaccharide are known to reduce allergic asthma induced by house dust mites through a mechanism of endotoxin tolerance mediated by ubiquitin-modifying enzyme A20, a negative feedback regulator of the NF-κB signaling pathway.12 Our recent study showed that environmental dusts from rural Conghua, China, induced a tolerance effect similar to that of European farms by inducing A20.13 However, the underlying mechanism of how exposure to rural environments modulates allergic susceptibility in humans is unknown.
Clinical Outcomes of Rose Bengal Mediated Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy on Fungal Keratitis with Their Microbiological and Pathological Correlation
Published in Current Eye Research, 2022
Bhupesh Bagga, Savitri Sharma, Lalit Kishore Ahirwar, Esther Sheba, Pravin Krishna Vaddavalli, Dilip K Mishra
Fungal isolates of five patients were preserved on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 27°C until tested. The isolates were subcultured on PDA, and fresh cultures of not more than three days were used. Standard suspensions of the fungal spores (1–1.5 × 104 CFU/ml), made in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.2), were used for the experiments. Potato dextrose agar Petri plates (85 mm) were used for spreading the fungal suspension, with or without rose bengal solution in equal volume and exposure to PDAT (5.4 Joules/cm2) for 15 minutes. A total of four plates in duplicates were included for each isolate – 1. Fungal spores (control), 2. Fungal spores + rose Bengal (final concentration 0.1%), 3. Fungal spores + rose Bengal + PDAT, 4. Fungal spores + PDAT. The plates were incubated at 27°C for 48 hours and were read with direct observation under light for fungal growth. In addition; a subset of 10 Fusarium isolates that were revived from the laboratory stock of clinical isolates, were identified by DNA sequencing of the ITS region and tested for their susceptibility to six antifungal drugs by micro broth dilution method; were tested against PDAT-RB. The patients with evidence of clinical worsening were subjected to therapeutic keratoplasty. All the corneal samples were sent for microbiological and histopathological examination.
Pollution characteristics and noncarcinogenic risk assessment of fungal bioaerosol in different processing units of waste paper and cardboard recycling factory
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2021
Abbas Norouzian Baghani, Armin Sorooshian, Mahdieh Delikhoon, Ramin Nabizadeh, Shahrokh Nazmara, Rounak Bakhtiari
Exposure to solid waste can result in diseases such as upper respiratory tract and skin infections, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, impaired lung function, cough, fever, and sore throat in waste sorting workers, workers at landfills, compost handlers, municipal solid waste workers, and garbage-handling plant workers (Malmros and Petersen 1988, Sigsgaard et al.1990a, Sigsgaard et al.1990b, Malmros et al.1992, Gladding and Coggins 1997, Bünger et al.2000, Burkowska et al.2011, Athanasiou et al.2010, Dehghani et al.2018b, Yen et al.2019, Baghani et al.2020). Evidence also suggests that frequent exposure to fungal spores leads to development of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, reduced lung function, severe asthma, organic dust toxic syndrome, airway inflammation, and respiratory disorders (Malmros et al.1992, Hansen et al.1997, Grisoli et al.2009, Madsen et al.2009, Rostami et al.2009, Athanasiou et al.2010, Marzouni et al.2017).