Alternaria alternata in a case of mass in the lung

Abstract

A 50-year-old woman, an agriculture worker with diabetes and asthma presented to us with complaints of fever with chills, cough with scanty, mucopurulent sputum and dull aching chest pain in right mammary area radiating to axilla. Chest X-ray and computed tomography scan revealed mass in the right lung. Ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration cytology was done and the greenish fluid on direct wet mount and inoculation on Sabouraud's dextrose agar isolated Alternaria species. Serum specimen was evaluated for immunoglobulin E specific titres for Alternaria species which was high. Patient was treated with fluconazole for 6 weeks after which the symptoms disappeared and chest X-ray was normal.

Cutaneous Alternariosis Caused by Alternaria infectoria: Three Cases in Kidney Transplant Patients

“…Alternaria species are dematiaceous fungi which are characterized by the formation of grey to black colonies on culture, due to the production of a melanin-like pigment in the cell wall of hyphae and conidia [ 1 ]. Since they are ubiquitous in the environment, their isolation in culture requires careful clinical evaluation [ 2 ]. The genus Alternaria comprises more than 80 species [ 3 ].…”