Fusarium is considered an emerging pathogen, and there are few reports of fusariosis in children. The objective of this study was to describe an outbreak of invasive fusariosis in a children's cancer hospital. A neutropenic 17-year-old male patient hospitalized for 10 days for a relapse of acute myeloid leukaemia, under chemotherapy, presented fever without any other symptoms; a thoracic computerized tomography showed bilateral pulmonary nodules. During voriconazole treatment, 1-cm reddened and painful subcutaneous nodules appeared on arms and legs and the culture of a skin biopsy revealed F. solani. Another case occurred 11 days later and started an outbreak investigation. Water samples for cultures were collected from taps, showers and water reservoirs. Air from all patient rooms was sampled. Faucets and the drains of sinks and showers were swabbed and cultured. Environmental and clinical isolates were typed. There were 10 confirmed cases of infection caused by Fusarium spp. F. oxysporum and F. solani were isolated from water, swabs and air in patient rooms. Many control measures were instituted, but the outbreak was only controlled 1 year after the first case, when water filters filtering 0.2 μm were installed at the exit of all faucets and showers in all patient rooms (points-of-use). Typing demonstrated that clinical isolates of F. oxysporum were similar to those of the environment. In conclusion, to our knowledge this is the first reported outbreak of invasive fusariosis in children with oncohaematologic disease. It was controlled using 0.2-μm filters in all tap faucets and showers.

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A sexualidade de Adolescentes Vivendo com HIV: direitos e desafios para o cuidadoThe sexuality of HIV-positive Adolescents: rights and challenges for healthcare

Advances in management and treatment have made a great difference in the survival of Brazilian children with AIDS. These results argue strongly for making such treatment available to children in the entire developing world.

Infection by unusual microorganisms can be one of the clinical manifestations of primary immunodeficiency (PID). We report on a four-month-old child with pneumonia caused by the fungus Acremonium kiliense as the first clinical manifestation of chronic granulomatous disease. We emphasize the importance of an active search for unusual organisms in immunodeficient patients, and a precise diagnosis and early institution of specific treatment against such microorganisms for the reduction of the morbidity and mortality of these patients.