Medical mycology is the field of medicine that is concerned with diagnosing, managing, and preventing fungal diseases known as mycoses.
Amphotericin B is the “gold standard” of antifungals but is also the most toxic to humans.
All four are dimorphic (have two forms), growing as multicellular thalli below 30°C, and as spherical yeast cells at body temperature (37°C). The yeast cells express a variety of characteristics that make them invasive and better able to thrive in the body.
Histoplasma capsulatum causes histoplasmosis and is the most common fungal pathogen in humans. It is found in moist soils containing high levels of nitrogen, usually from bird and bat droppings. There are two strains: capsulatum and duboisii.
Blastomycoses are caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis. The organism grows in organically rich soil and gets into the lungs through inhalation of fungal spores in dust, resulting in pulmonary blastomycosis.
Coccidioidomycosis is caused by Coccidioides immitis. Fungi can be recovered from desert soil and materials coated with dust from endemic areas.
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis causes paracoccidioidomycosis. The organism lives in cool, damp soil from southern Mexico through South America.
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