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An Overview of Parasite Diversity
Published in Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin, Parasitology, 2023
Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin
The kingdom Fungi includes organisms ranging from tiny single-celled microsporidians and chytrids to complex, multicellular mushrooms. Fungal parasites are usually discussed in mycology courses and most will not be emphasized in this book. Mycology is the branch of biology that deals with the study of fungi. However, parasitism is such a pervasive feature of fungal biology, and fungi are so frequently implicated as the cause of emerging diseases or extirpations of endangered species, it would be remiss not to include them in this overview of parasite diversity. Examples of the effects of parasitic fungi appear throughout the book.
Skin
Published in Keith Hopcroft, Vincent Forte, Symptom Sorter, 2020
SMALL PRINT: Skin biopsy, syphilis serology, FBC, ESR/CRP, fasting glucose or HbA1c. Green fluorescence under UV (Wood's) light is diagnostic of microsporum fungal infection.Skin scrapings and hair samples for mycology: Will help differentiate fungal infections from similar rashes.Skin biopsy: May be the only way to achieve a firm diagnosis in obscure rashes, and is essential if malignancy suspected.Patch testing: To establish the likely allergen in allergic contact eczema.Syphilis serology: If justified by clinical features or obscure pattern.FBC and ESR/CRP: May suggest significant underlying disease (e.g. T-cell lymphoma); ESR/CRP also elevated in Reiter's disease.Fasting glucose or HbA1c: Check for diabetes in recurrent fungal infections.
Skin
Published in Keith Hopcroft, Vincent Forte, Symptom Sorter, 2020
SMALL PRINT: skin biopsy, syphilis serology, FBC, ESR/CRP, fasting glucose or HbA1c. Green fluorescence under UV (Wood’s) light is diagnostic of microsporum fungal infection.Skin scrapings and hair samples for mycology: will help differentiate fungal infections from similar rashes.Skin biopsy: may be the only way to achieve a firm diagnosis in obscure rashes, and is essential if malignancy suspected.Patch testing: to establish the likely allergen in allergic contact eczema.Syphilis serology: if justified by clinical features or obscure pattern.FBC and ESR/CRP: may suggest significant underlying disease (e.g. T-cell lymphoma); ESR/CRP also elevated in Reiter’s disease.Fasting glucose or HbA1c: check for diabetes in recurrent fungal infections.
Will invasive fungal infections be The Last of Us? The importance of surveillance, public-health interventions, and antifungal stewardship
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2023
Roxana M. Rodríguez Stewart, Jeremy A.W. Gold, Tom Chiller, D. Joseph Sexton, Shawn R. Lockhart
Clinical microbiology laboratories serve as the front line for disease detection, including IFIs. However, establishing mycology laboratories can be challenging in developing countries given limitations in infrastructure, funding, and personnel with fungal expertise. Identifying laboratory deficiencies and expanding laboratory capacity through diagnostic assay development, education, and training are crucial for strengthening a country’s public health surveillance and response to fungal diseases. Even in settings with governmental or nongovernmental organization support for clinical diagnosis and testing of bacterial and fungal diseases, fungal laboratory diagnosis is often ignored [5]. The inability to diagnose IFIs, which depends in large part on laboratory testing, can lead to these infections going untreated, often resulting in death, or treated empirically, which can lead to misuse and overuse of antibacterial and antifungal medications, a driver of antimicrobial resistance [6]. Increasing clinical awareness of fungal diseases in at-risk populations is the first step in highlighting the importance of advancing laboratory testing capacities through diagnostic assay implementation and increased personnel training. This would lead to improved accuracy and turnaround time of results, resulting in proper diagnosis and a decrease in empiric treatment.
Hepatic safety of the antifungal triazole agent posaconazole: characterization of adverse event reports in a manufacturer’s safety database
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2022
Rose O’Flynn, Yun-Ping Zhou, Hetty Waskin, Ronald Leong, Walter Straus
Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients who are immunocompromised, such as those with hematologic malignancies who are undergoing chemotherapy, those with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) who have received hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), and those admitted to intensive care units [1–3]. Triazole-based antifungal agents have been widely used for both prophylaxis and treatment of IFIs in clinical practice, as recommended by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and IDSA Clinical Practice Guidelines and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, the European Confederation of Medical Mycology, and the European Respiratory Society Joint Clinical Guidelines [4,5]. For example, prophylaxis with posaconazole is strongly recommended for the prevention of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes who are undergoing induction chemotherapy [4,5], whereas isavuconazole and voriconazole are the preferred agents for the first-line treatment of patients with pulmonary IA [5].
Understanding the genetic basis of immune responses to fungal infection
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2022
Samuel M. Gonçalves, Cristina Cunha, Agostinho Carvalho
Research on the genetics of susceptibility to infection over the next years is expected to transform care in infectious diseases, and fungal infections are not an exception. These efforts will be paralleled by advances in other disciplines, and this will certainly contribute to assessing the relevance of host genetics in the host–fungus interaction with an unprecedented resolution. For example, recently established organ-on-a-chip systems are amenable to the functional testing of genetic variants, and this will provide exciting possibilities to address their functional consequences in a complex and human disease-relevant model. In conclusion, an improved understanding of how genetic signatures regulate susceptibility to fungal infection will pave the way toward new personalized medical interventions and we will surely witness the results of these advances in the field of medical mycology in the coming years.