Microbiology
A mold (or mould) Nannizziopsis, of which there are a dozen spp or so. N. obscura, N. infrequens, N. hominis have caused disease in humans (PubMed).
Epidemiologic Risks
Found in soil, two cases were from Africa.
Some strains (N. vriesii and N. guarroi,) infect lizards, snakes, and crocodilians.
Syndromes
Invasive disease in the immunoincompetent like AIDS and transplants (PubMed). Difficult to detect.
Most human cases have been N. hominis and N. obscura.
May be beta-D-glucan positive, N. infrequens cross-reacts with the Histoplasma AccuProbe test and N. hominis with the Blastomyces AccuProbe.
Treatment
"Testing were amphotericin B 0.25 μg/mL, itraconazole 0.03 μg/mL, voriconazole 0.125 μg/ mL, posaconazole 0.25 μg/mL, caspofungin 0.25 μg/mL, and micafungin <0.008 μg/mL(PubMed). "
Itraconazole or voriconazole are effective in reptiles, should your congressman get an infection.
Notes
Last update: 05/05/18