RESUMO
Coccidioidomycosis is a systemic mycosis with a variable clinical presentation. Misdiagnosis of coccidioidomycosis as bacterial pneumopathy leads to inappropriate prescription of antibiotics and delayed diagnosis. This report describes an outbreak among armadillo hunters in northeastern Brazil in which an initial diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia was later confirmed as coccidioidomycosis caused by Coccidioides posadasii. Thus, this mycosis should be considered as an alternative diagnosis in patients reporting symptoms of pneumonia, even if these symptoms are only presented for a short period, who are from areas considered endemic for this disease.
Assuntos
Tatus/microbiologia , Coccidioidomicose/diagnóstico , Pneumopatias Fúngicas/diagnóstico , Pneumonia Bacteriana/diagnóstico , Pneumonia/diagnóstico , Adolescente , Animais , Brasil/epidemiologia , Coccidioides/isolamento & purificação , Coccidioidomicose/epidemiologia , Surtos de Doenças , Humanos , Pneumopatias Fúngicas/epidemiologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Pneumonia/epidemiologia , Pneumonia Bacteriana/tratamento farmacológico , Microbiologia do SoloRESUMO
Coccidioidomycosis is a systemic mycosis with a variable clinical presentation. Misdiagnosis of coccidioidomycosis as bacterial pneumopathy leads to inappropriate prescription of antibiotics and delayed diagnosis. This report describes an outbreak among armadillo hunters in northeastern Brazil in which an initial diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia was later confirmed as coccidioidomycosis caused by Coccidioides posadasii. Thus, this mycosis should be considered as an alternative diagnosis in patients reporting symptoms of pneumonia, even if these symptoms are only presented for a short period, who are from areas considered endemic for this disease.
Assuntos
Adolescente , Animais , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Tatus/microbiologia , Coccidioidomicose/diagnóstico , Pneumopatias Fúngicas/diagnóstico , Pneumonia Bacteriana/diagnóstico , Pneumonia/diagnóstico , Brasil/epidemiologia , Coccidioides/isolamento & purificação , Coccidioidomicose/epidemiologia , Surtos de Doenças , Pneumopatias Fúngicas/epidemiologia , Pneumonia Bacteriana/tratamento farmacológico , Pneumonia/epidemiologia , Microbiologia do SoloRESUMO
The objective of this study was to evaluate the reactivity of an in-house antigen, extracted from a strain of C. posadasii isolated in northeastern Brazil, by radial immunodiffusion and Western blotting, as well as to establish its biochemical characterization. The protein antigen was initially extracted with the use of solid ammonium sulfate and characterized by 1-D electrophoresis. Subsequently, it was tested by means of double radial immunodiffusion and Western blotting. A positive reaction was observed against the antigen by both immunodiagnostic techniques tested on sera from patients suffering from coccidioidomycosis. Besides this, two immunoreactive protein bands were observed and were revealed to be a ß-glucosidase and a glutamine synthetase after sequencing of the respective N-terminal regions. Our in-house Coccidioides antigen can be promising as a quick and low-cost diagnostic tool without the risk of direct manipulation of the microorganism.