Isolation of Histoplasma capsulatum from Soil

Emmons, C. W.

doi:10.2307/4587021

Cited by 218 publications

(70 citation statements)

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“…H. capsulatum is thermally dimorphic (94). The fungus is primarily a mould in the environment, as a saprophytic organisms in soils enriched with organic nitrogen sources like animal excrements, or when grown in the laboratory at less than 35ºC (3,29,(40)(41)(42)(43)124,125,159) (Fig. 1a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diagnosis of histoplasmosis

Guimarães

Nosanchuk²,

Zancopé‐Oliveira³

2006

Braz. J. Microbiol.

172

206

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Endemic mycoses can be challenging to diagnose and accurate interpretation of laboratory data is important to ensure the most appropriate treatment for the patients. Although the definitive diagnosis of histoplasmosis (HP), one of the most frequent endemic mycoses in the world, is achieved by direct diagnosis performed by micro and/or macroscopic observation of Histoplasma capsulatum (H. capsulatum), serologic evidence of this fungal infection is important since the isolation of the etiologic agents is time-consuming and insensitive. A variety of immunoassays have been used to detect specific antibodies to H. capsulatum. The most applied technique for antibody detection is immunodiffusion with sensitivity between 70 to 100 % and specificity of 100%, depending on the clinical form. The complement fixation (CF) test, a methodology extensively used on the past, is less specific (60 to 90%). Detecting fungal antigens by immunoassays is valuable in immunocompromised individuals where such assays achieve positive predictive values of 96-98%. Most current tests in diagnostic laboratories still utilize unpurified antigenic complexes from either whole fungal cells or their culture filtrates. Emphasis has shifted, however, to clinical immunoassays using highly purified and well-characterized antigens including recombinant antigens. In this paper, we review the current conventional diagnostic tools, such as complement fixation and immunodiffusion, outline the development of novel diagnostic reagents and methods, and discuss their relative merits and disadvantages to the immunodiagnostic of this mycosis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diagnosis of histoplasmosis

Guimarães

Nosanchuk²,

Zancopé‐Oliveira³

2006

Braz. J. Microbiol.

172

206

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“…He described the disseminated form of the disease in a fatal case from Martinique (19). It took decades to prove that Histoplasma capsulatum is a dimorphic fungus, that histoplasmosis is primarily a pulmonary disease, and that the environmental reservoir is soil (25,33).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Histoplasmosis: a Clinical and Laboratory Update

2007

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SUMMARY Infection with Histoplasma capsulatum occurs commonly in areas in the Midwestern United States and Central America, but symptomatic disease requiring medical care is manifest in very few patients. The extent of disease depends on the number of conidia inhaled and the function of the host's cellular immune system. Pulmonary infection is the primary manifestation of histoplasmosis, varying from mild pneumonitis to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. In those with emphysema, a chronic progressive form of histoplasmosis can ensue. Dissemination of H. capsulatum within macrophages is common and becomes symptomatic primarily in patients with defects in cellular immunity. The spectrum of disseminated infection includes acute, severe, life-threatening sepsis and chronic, slowly progressive infection. Diagnostic accuracy has improved greatly with the use of an assay for Histoplasma antigen in the urine; serology remains useful for certain forms of histoplasmosis, and culture is the ultimate confirming diagnostic test. Classically, histoplasmosis has been treated with long courses of amphotericin B. Today, amphotericin B is rarely used except for severe infection and then only for a few weeks, followed by azole therapy. Itraconazole is the azole of choice following initial amphotericin B treatment and for primary treatment of mild to moderate histoplasmosis.

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“…Over the next few decades, it became obvious that H. capsulatum is actually an environmental fungus with no capsule. The organism was first isolated from soil by Chester Emmons in 1948 (Emmons 1949).…”

Section: Histoplasma Capsulatummentioning

confidence: 99%