Skip to main content

Adiaspiromycosis and Diseases Caused by Related Fungi in Ajellomycetaceae

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Emerging and Epizootic Fungal Infections in Animals

Abstract

Adiaspiromycosis, classically caused by Emmonsia species, is primarily a pulmonary disease affecting small mammals, especially members of the orders Rodentia and Carnivora. The disease name derives from the tissue form of the fungus (adiaspores), which develops when the inhaled conidia of the mycelial form of the fungus present in soil enlarge in lungs to produce thick-walled non-replicative structures. Emmonsia crescens has apparently worldwide distribution and is associated with very large adiaspores (up to 400 μm). The type species of Emmonsia, E. parva, however, is now recognised to be a Blastomyces species and its ‘small adiaspores’ are comparable to the broad-based budding cells current in that genus. This chapter briefly summarises current knowledge concerning taxonomy, epidemiology, biology and clinical syndromes of the principal etiological agents of adiaspiromycosis in mammals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Albassam MA, Bhatnagar R, Lillie LE, Roy L (1986) Adiaspiromycosis in striped skunks in Alberta, Canada. J Wildl Dis 22:13–18

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anstead GM, Sutton DA, Graybill JR (2012) Adiaspiromycosis causing respiratory failure and a review of human infections due to Emmonsia and Chrysosporium spp. J Clin Microbiol 50:1346–1354

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Austwick PKC (1968) Mycotic infections. Symp Zool Soc Lond 24:249–271

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbas Filho JV, Amato MB, Deheinzelin D, Saldiva PH, de Carvalho CR (1990) Respiratory failure caused by adiaspiromycosis. Chest 97:1171–1175

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boisseau-Lebreuil HT (1975) In vitro formation of adiaspores in 10 strains of Emmonsia crescens, the fungal agent of adiaspiromycosis. CR Séances Soc Biol Fil 169:1057–1061

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borman AM, Simpson VR, Palmer MD, Linton CJ, Johnson EM (2009) Adiaspiromycosis due to Emmonsia crescens is widespread in native British mammals. Mycopathologia 68:153–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buyuksirin M, Ozkayaa S, Yucel N, Guldaval F, Ceylan K, Erbay Polat G (2011) Pulmonary adiaspiromycosis: the first reported case in Turkey. Respir Med CME 4:166–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chantrey JC, Borman AM, Johnson EM, Kipar A (2006) Emmonsia crescens infection in a British water vole (Arvicola terrestris). Med Mycol 44:375–378

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ciferri R, Montemartini A (1959) Taxonomy of Haplosporangium parvum. Mycopathologia 10:303–316

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cronje N, Schwartz IS, Retief L et al (2017) Attempted molecular detection of the dimorphic fungal pathogen, Emergomyces africanus, in small terrestrial mammals in South Africa. Med Mycol. https://doi.org/10.1093/mmy/myx065

  • de Almeida Barbosa A, Moreira Lemos AC, Severo LC (1997) Acute pulmonary adiaspiromycosis. Report of three cases and a review of 16 other cases collected from the literature. Rev Iberoam Micol 14:177–180

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • de Hoog GS, Redhead SA, Feng P, Jiang Y, Dukik K, Sigler L (2017) Proposals to conserve Blastomyces Gilchrist & W.R. Stokes against Blastomyces Costantin & Rolland and Ajellomycetaceae against Paracoccidioidaceae (Ascomycota: Onygenales). Taxon 65:1167–1169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denson JL, Keen CE, Froeschle PO, Toy EW, Borman AM (2009) Adiaspiromycosis mimicking widespread malignancy in a patient with pulmonary adenocarcinoma. J Clin Pathol 62:837–839

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doby JM, Boisseau-Lebreuil MT, Rault B (1971) L’adiaspiromycose par Emmonsia crescens chez les petits mammiferes sauvages en France. Mycopathologia 44:107–115

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doby-Dubois M, Chevrel ML, Doby JM, Louvet M (1964) Premier cas humain d’adiaspiromycose par Emmonsia crescens, Emmons et Jellison 1960. Bull Soc Pathol Exot 57:240–244

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dot J-M, Debourgogne A, Champigneulle J, Salles Y, Brizion M, Puyhardy JM, Collomb J, Plénat F, Machouart M (2009) Molecular diagnosis of disseminated adiaspiromycosis due to Emmonsia crescens. J Clin Microbiol 47:1269–1273

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Drouhet E, Guého E, Gori S, Huerre M, Provost F, Borgers M, Dupont B (1998) Mycological, ultrastructural and experimental aspects of a new dimorphic fungus Emmonsia pasteuriana sp. nov. isolated from a cutaneous disseminated mycosis in AIDS. J Mycol Med 8:64–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Dukik K, Muñoz JF, Jiang Y, Feng P, Sigler L, Stielow JB et al (2017) Novel taxa of thermally dimorphic systemic pathogens in the Ajellomycetaceae (Onygenales). Mycoses 60:296–309

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dvořák J, Otcenášek M, Prokopič J (1969) The spring peak of adiaspiromycosis due to Emmonsia crescens Emmons and Jellison 1960. Sabouraudia 7:12–14

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dvořák J, Otcenášek M, Rosicky B (1973) Adiaspiromycosis caused by Emmonsia crescens Emmons and Jellison 1960. Studie CSAV c14. Academia Press, Prague

    Google Scholar 

  • Echavarria E, Cano EL, Restrepo A (1993) Disseminated adiaspiromycosis in a patient with AIDS. J Med Vet Mycol 31:91–97

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emmons CW, Jellison WL (1960) Emmonsia crescens sp. nov. and adiaspiromycosis (haplomycosis) in mammals. Ann N Y Acad Sci 89:91–101

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • England DM, Hochholzer L (1993) Adiaspiromycosis: an unusual fungal infection of the lung. Report of 11 cases. Am J Surg Pathol 17:876–886

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feng P, Yin S, Zhu G et al (2015) Disseminated infection caused by Emmonsia pasteuriana in a renal transplant recipient. J Dermatol 42:1179–1182

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gori S, Drouhet E (1998) Cutaneous disseminated mycosis in a patient with AIDS due to a new dimorphic fungus. J Mycol Med 8:57–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubalek Z (1999) Emmonsiosis of wild rodents and insectivores in Czechland. J Wildl Dis 35:243–249

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hubalek Z, Nesvadboda J, Rychnovsky B (1995) A heterogeneous distribution of Emmonsia parva var. crescens in an agro-system. J Med Vet Mycol 33:197–200

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hubalek Z, Zejda J, Svobodová Š, Kuĉera J (1993) Seasonality of rodent adiaspiromycosis in a lowland forest. J Med Vet Mycol 31:359–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubalek Z, Burda H, Scharff A, Heth G, Nevo E, Sumbera R, Pesko J, Zima J (2005) Emmonsiosis of subterranean rodents (Bathyergidae, Spalacidae) in Africa and Israel. Med Mycol 43(8):691–697

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jellison WL (1969) Adiaspiromycosis (=haplomycosis). Mountain Press, Montana

    Google Scholar 

  • Jellison WL, Helminen M, Vinson JW (1960) Presence of a pulmonary fungus in rodents in Finland. Ann Med Exp Fenn 38:3–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiang Y, Dukik K, Muñoz J, Sigler L, Schwartz IS et al (2018) Phylogeny, ecology and taxonomy of systemic pathogens in Ajellomycetaceae (Onygenales). Fungal Divers (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenyon C, Corcoran C, Govender NP (2014) An Emmonsia species causing disseminated infection in South Africa. N Engl J Med 370:283–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krivanec K (1977) Adiaspiromycosis in Czechoslovakian mammals. Sabouraudia 15:221–223

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krivanec K, Otcenasek M (1977) Importance of free living mustelid carnivores in circulation of adiaspiromycosis. Mycopathologia 60:139–144

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krivanec K, Octenasek M, Rosicky B (1975) The role of polecats of the genus Putorius Cuvier, 1987 in natural foci of adiaspiromycosis. Folia Parasitol 22:245–249

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krivanec K, Otcenasek M, Slais J (1976) Adiaspiromycosis in large free-living carnivores. Mycopathologia 58:21–25

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kodousek R (1972) Finding of isolated spherules of the fungus Emmonsia crescens in surgical specimen of the appendix in a 7-year-old boy. Cesk Patol 8:160–162

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kodousek R, Vortel V, Fingerland A (1971) Pulmonary adiaspiromycosis in man caused by Emmonsia crescens: report of a unique case. Am J Clin Pathol 56:394–399

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leighton FA, Wobeser G (1978) The prevalence of adiaspiromycosis in three sympatric species of ground squirrels. J Wildl Dis 14:362–365

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li RK, Ciblak MA, Nordoff N, Pasarell L et al (2000) In vitro activities of voriconazole, itraconazole, and amphotericin B against Blastomyces dermatitidis, Coccidioides immitis, and Histoplasma capsulatum. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 44(6):1734–1736

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lugton IW, Wobeser G, Morris RS, Caley P (1997) Epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis in feral ferrets (Mustela furo) in New Zealand. N Z Vet J 45:140–150

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malik R, Capoor MR, Vanidassane I et al (2016) Disseminated Emmonsia pasteuriana infection in India: a case report and a review. Mycoses 59:127–132

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martins RL, Santos CG, França FR, Moraes MA (1997) Human adiaspiromycosis. A report of a case treated with ketoconazole. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 30:507–509

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mason R, Gauhwin M (1982) Adiaspiromycosis in south Australian hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons). J Wildl Dis 18:3–8

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McDiarmid A, Austwick PK (1954) Occurrence of Haplosporangium parvum in the lungs of the mole (Talpa europaea). Nature 174:843–844

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mendes MO, Moraes MA, Renoiner EI, Dantas MH, Lanzieri TM, Fonseca CF, Luna EJ, Hatch DL (2009) Acute conjunctivitis with episcleritis and anterior uveitis linked to adiaspiromycosis and freshwater sponges, Amazon region, Brazil, 2005. Emerg Infect Dis 15:633–639

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Moraes MA, Gomes MI (2004) Human adiaspiromycosis: cicatricial lesions in mediastinal lymph nodes. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 37:177–178

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nuorva K, Pitkänen R, Issakainen J, Huttunen NP, Juhola M (1997) Pulmonary adiaspiromycosis in a two year old girl. J Clin Pathol 50:82–85

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pelegrin I, Ayats J, Xiol X, Cuenca-Estrella M et al (2011) Disseminated adiaspiromycosis: case report of a liver transplant patient with human immunodeficiency infection, and literature review. Transpl Infect Dis 13(5):507–514

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peres LC, Figueiredo F, Peinado M, Soares FA (1992) Fulminant disseminated pulmonary adiaspiromycosis in humans. Am J Trop Med Hyg 46:146–150

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson SW, Sigler L (1998) Molecular genetic variation in Emmonsia crescens and Emmonsia parva, etiologic agents of adiaspiromycosis, and their phylogenetic relationship to Blastomyces dermatitidis (Ajellomyces dermatitidis) and other systemic fungal pathogens. J Clin Microbiol 36:2918–2925

    PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • dos Santos VM, Fatureto MC, Saldanha JC, Adad SJ (2000) Pulmonary adiaspiromycosis: report of two cases. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 33:483–488

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz IS, Govender NP, Corcoran C et al (2015a) Clinical characteristics, diagnosis, management and outcomes of disseminated emmonsiosis: a retrospective case series. Clin Infect Dis 61:1004–1012

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz IS, Kenyon C, Feng P et al (2015b) 50 years of Emmonsia disease in humans: the dramatic emergence of a cluster of novel fungal pathogens. PLoS Pathog 11:e100e5198

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz IS, Lerm B, Hoving JC et al (2018a) Emergomyces africanus in soil, South Africa. Emerg Infect Dis 24(2):377–380. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2402.171351

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz IS, McLoud JD, Berman D et al (2018b) Molecular detection of airborne Emergomyces africanus, a thermally dimorphic fungal pathogen, in Cape Town, South Africa. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 12(1):e0006174. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006174

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sharapov VM (1969) Adiaspiromycosis in the U.S.S.R. Izv Sibirsk Otdel AN SSSR Ser Biol-Med Nauk 1:86–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Severo LC, Geyer GR, Camargo JJ, Porto NS (1989) Adiaspiromycosis treated successfully with ketoconazole. J Med Vet Mycol 27:265–268

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sigler L (1996) Ajellomyces crescens sp. nov.: taxonomy of Emmonsia species and relatedness with Blastomyces dermatitidis (teleomorph Ajellomyces dermatitidis). J Med Vet Mycol 34:303–314

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sigler L (2005) Adiaspiromycosis and other infections caused by Emmonsia species. In: Merz WG, Hay RJ (eds) Medical mycology, Topley and Wilson’s microbiology and microbial infections, 10th edn. Hodder Arnold Press, London, pp 809–824

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigler L, Flis A (1998) Catalogue of the University of Alberta Microfungus Collection and Herbarium. University of Alberta Devonian Botanic Garden, Edmonton, pp 1–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva RM, Liporoni GA, Botto CC, Rodrigues BC, Scudeler D, Cunha Junior W (2010) Pulmonary adiaspiromycosis treated without antifungal drugs. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 43:95–97

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson VR, Gavier-Wilden D (2000) Fatal adiaspiromycosis in a wild Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). Vet Rec 147:239–241

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tang XH, Zhou H, Zhang XQ, Han JD, Gao Q (2015) Cutaneous disseminated emmonsiosis due to Emmonsia pasteuriana in a patient with cytomegalovirus enteritis. JAMA Dermatol 151:1026–1028

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tevis L (1956) Additional records of Haplosporangium parvum in mammals in Britain. Nature 177:437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner D, Burke M, Bashe E, Blinder S, Yust I (1999) Pulmonary adiaspiromycosis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 18:893–895

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang P, Kenyon C, de Hoog S, Guo L, Fan H, Liu H, Li Z, Sheng R, Yang Y, Jiang Y, Zhang L, Xu Y (2017) A novel dimorphic pathogen, Emergomyces orientalis (Onygenales), agent of disseminated infection. Mycoses 60:310–319

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Watts JC, Chandler FW (1975) Human pulmonary adiaspiromycosis. Arch Pathol 99:11–15

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wheat LJ, Freifeld AG, Kleiman MB, Baddley JW, McKinsey DS, Loyd JE, Kauffman CA, Infectious Diseases Society of America (2007) Clinical practice guidelines for the management of patients with histoplasmosis: 2007 update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis 45:807–825

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. Sybren de Hoog .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Borman, A.M., Jiang, Y., Dukik, K., Sigler, L., Schwartz, I.S., de Hoog, G.S. (2018). Adiaspiromycosis and Diseases Caused by Related Fungi in Ajellomycetaceae. In: Seyedmousavi, S., de Hoog, G., Guillot, J., Verweij, P. (eds) Emerging and Epizootic Fungal Infections in Animals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72093-7_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics