Zoonotic fungus Arthroderma multifidum causing chronic pulmonary infection

Qi Chen; Qing Yang; Hangfei Chen; Yake Yao; Lisha Shen; Ruhui Zhang; Huimin Guo; Yunsong Yu; Hua Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2023.02.010

Zoonotic fungus Arthroderma multifidum causing chronic pulmonary infection

Int J Infect Dis. 2023 May:130:17-19. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.02.010. Epub 2023 Feb 23.

Authors

Qi Chen¹, Qing Yang², Hangfei Chen¹, Yake Yao¹, Lisha Shen¹, Ruhui Zhang¹, Huimin Guo³, Yunsong Yu⁴, Hua Zhou⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, Key Laboratory of Clinical In Vitro Diagnostic Techniques of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Zhejiang University, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
³ Zhejiang Digena Diagnosis Technology CO., LTD, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Department of Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Bioinformatics of Zhejiang Province, Regional Medical Center for National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. Electronic address: yvys119@zju.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. Electronic address: zhouhua1@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 36828236
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.02.010

Abstract

A rare case of fungus Arthroderma multifidum infection occurred in a 63-year-old man. The patient had some risk factors, including occupational exposure, immunosuppressive state, and structural basis following pulmonary tuberculosis and pneumothorax surgery. The pathogen was repeatedly isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and identified by gene sequencing. It is the first report of human infection caused by A. multifidum. Whole genome sequencing and analysis of its genomic characterization are completed. The findings provide us with a key clinical insight that the combination of immune suppression and environmental exposure could create an ideal condition for zoonotic fungal infections.

Keywords: Arthroderma multifidum; Community-acquired pneumonia; Genome annotation; Genome sequencing; Zoonoses.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Animals
Arthrodermataceae* / genetics
Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / microbiology
Humans
Lung
Male
Middle Aged
Pneumonia*
Zoonoses / diagnosis
Zoonoses / microbiology

Supplementary concepts

Arthroderma multifidum