Pseudallescheria

The genus Pseudallescheria contains a single species: Pseudallescheria boydii.

Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Ascomycota
Class: Euascomycetes
Order: Microascales
Family: Microascaceae
Genus: Pseudallescheria

Other Mould Types:

[ Mould Pictures ] [ Absidia Mould ] [ Alternaria Mould ] [ Aspergillus Mould ] [ Aureobasidium Mould ] [ Blastomyces Mould ] [ Candida Mould ] [ Coccidioides ] [ Cryptococcus Mould ] [ Curvularia Mould ] [ Histoplasma Mould ] [ Mucor Mould ] [ Penicillium Mould ] [ Pseudallescheria ] [ Sporothrix Mould ] [ Stachybotrys Mould ] [ Verticillium Mould ] [ Yeast ]

Description and Habitat

Pseudallescheria is a filamentous fungus that is found worldwide. It has so far been isolated from soil, sewage, contaminated water, and the manure of farm animals. It is an emerging opportunistic pathogen and can cause various infections in humans. Pseudallescheria boydii is the teleomorph of Scedosporium apiospermum and Graphium eumorphum.

P. boydii is a natural inhabitant of soil, manure and polluted water.

Colonies of Pseudallescheria boydii grow rapidly at 25°C. The texture is wooly to cottony. From the front, the color is initially white and later becomes dark gray or smoky brown. From the underside, it is pale with brownish black zones.

Health Effects

The infections caused by Pseudallescheria boydii are occasionally and wholely referred to as pseudallescheriasis.

Pseudallescheria boydii is among the causative agents of white grain mycetoma. The infection is usually acquired via contact with soil and follows a minor trauma. In addition to mycetoma, Pseudallescheria boydii is well-known to cause infections in various organs and systems of the body. These include cutaneous infections, sinusitis, keratitis, lymphadenitis, endophthalmitis, meningoencephalitis, brain abscess, endocarditis, pneumonia, lung abscess, pulmonary fungus ball, allergic bronchopulmonary fungal disease, bursitis, arthritis, osteomyelitis, urethritis, and disseminated infections. Disseminated infections are often fatal if not treated. Cerebral infections are commonly encountered as a complication in near-drowning patients.

Four months and four brain operations later, Big is in a coma in a Bangkok hospital. The odds are that he will die—not from injuries sustained in the car crash but from an infection by a lethal fungus that blooms in Bangkok's klongs. The fungus entered Big's bloodstream when his heart stopped and his lungs filled with water. Undetected, it attacked blood vessels in Big's brain, causing a massive hemorrhage two weeks after the crash. - TIME Asia Magazine: Fancy a Swim? -- November 24, 2003 / Vol. 162 No. 20

A brain abscess is formed, when there is localized collection of pus, in a cavity formed by the breakdown of the tissue, in the brain. The causative agents of brain abscess include bacteria, fungi and parasites. Amongst the fungi, aspergillus and candida species and Cryptococcus neoformans are the common agents of brain abscess.

Therapy

Pseudallescheria boydii is often resistant to treatment with amphotericin B. Some patients have successfully been treated with ketoconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole, and voriconazole. Topical miconazole and natamycin have proven to be effective in cases with keratitis. Concomitant surgical intervention may be required in some cases, such as those with sinusitis, keratitis or brain abscess.

Acknowledgment

The mycological information gathered and organized in this extensive research on different pathogenic moulds was sourced from the informative websites listed below:

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