Role of Rhizomys pruinosus as a natural animal host of Penicillium marneffei in Guangdong, China.
Microb Biotechnol
; 8(4): 659-64, 2015 Jul.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25824250
ABSTRACT
Penicillium marneffei, a dimorphic fungus that can cause penicilliosis marneffei, is endemic in Southeast Asia. The only known hosts of P. marneffei are humans and bamboo rats. The aim of our study was to explore the distribution of P. marneffei in bamboo rats, their associated environment and non-rat-associated environments. Totally, 270 samples were collected in Guangdong province of China in 2012; the prevalence of P. marneffei was much higher in samples collected from surrounding areas of burrows (8.2%) than in the samples obtained from non-rat-associated sites (2%) or artificial farms of bamboo rats (0%). There was no difference in P. marneffei isolated rate from different areas of Guangdong province. The infection is prevalent in all rats, and this fungus could be frequently seen in the rats' lungs. This study confirms that bamboo rat is the ecological niche of P. marneffei and hypothesizes that bamboo rats become infected by inhaling aerosolized conidia originating from environmental sources, rather than by the fecal-oral route or transplacental crossing. According to the result of no detection of P. marneffei in the artificial farm, the activity of bamboo rats might be more relevant to the distribution and dissemination of P. marneffei in natural environment.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Penicillium
/
Roedores
/
Microbiologia Ambiental
Tipo de estudo:
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Microb Biotechnol
Ano de publicação:
2015
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
China