Aspergillus flavus: an emerging non‐fumigatus Aspergillus species of significance

Abstract

Invasive aspergillosis is rare in immunocompetent people but contributes to significant morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients. The majority (approximately 80%) of invasive Aspergillus infections is caused by Aspergillus fumigatus. The second most frequent (approximately 15-20%) pathogenic species is Aspergillus flavus and to a lesser extent, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus terreus. Aspergillus flavus has emerged as a predominant pathogen in patients with fungal sinusitis and fungal keratitis in several institutions worldwide. To date, there has not been any publication exclusively reviewing the topic of A. flavus in the literature. This article reviews the microbiology, toxigenicity and epidemiology of A. flavus as well as describes the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and management of infections caused by this organism.

Prevalence and potential for aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts and peanut butter from farmers and traders in Nairobi and Nyanza provinces of Kenya

“…Members of Aspergillus section Flavi mainly A. flavus and A. parasiticus are the major producers of aflatoxin in groundnuts (Passone et al, 2010). Aspergillus flavus produces only B-type aflatoxins and it is the second leading cause of human aspergillosis (Hedayati et al, 2007;Pasqualotto & Denning, 2008;Krishnan et al, 2009) while A. parasiticus produces both B-and G-type aflatoxins (Ehrlich et al, 2004;Frisvad et al, 2005). Aflatoxin contamination levels of groundnuts and peanut butter: There was variation in aflatoxin levels among groundnut and peanut butter samples ranging from 0.0 to 2377.1 µg/kg (Table 4).…”

Investigation of Acid Proteinase and Phospholipase Activity as Virulence Factors in Clinical Aspergillus spp. Isolates

“…İmmün yetmezlikli hasta sayısındaki artışla birlikte, Aspergillus türleri son yıllarda klinik örneklerden daha sık izole edilir olmuştur. İnsanlarda meydana gelen hastalıklara çoğunlukla Aspergillus fumigatus kompleks türleri neden olurken; onu Aspergillus flavus kompleks ve Aspergillus niger kompleks takip etmektedir 2 . Aspergillus türlerine bağlı invazif enfeksiyonların gelişmesinde immün süpresyon, hematolojik malignensi ve kortikosteroid kullanımı gibi konağa ait faktörlerin yanında, Aspergillus türlerinin sahip olduğu virülans faktörleri de önemli rol oynamaktadır 3,4 .…”

Aspergilosis invasiva pulmonar: reporte de un caso

“…Esta distribución varía según la zona geográfica. Aspergillus flavus tiene la capacidad de sobrevivir en temperaturas elevadas; por esta razón, es el patógeno predominante en regiones áridas y secas (7,8).…”

“…En dos de las publicaciones revisadas en las que se da cuenta de la incidencia de cada una de las especies de Aspergillus spp. en niños, se encontró que A. flavus es la especie más frecuente, con una incidencia de 65 y 72 % (7,8).…”

“…Las manifestaciones clínicas pulmonares de la infección por este agente, no difieren de las que se presentan con A. fumigatus (7,10). Dichas manifestaciones se han agrupado en cuatro sín-dromes clínicos: aspergilosis pulmonar invasiva, aspergilosis necrótica crónica, también llamada aspergilosis semiinvasiva, aspergiloma y aspergilosis broncopulmonar alérgica (11).…”