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Review
. 2015 Nov 19;11(11):e1005198.
doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005198. eCollection 2015.

50 Years of Emmonsia Disease in Humans: The Dramatic Emergence of a Cluster of Novel Fungal Pathogens

Ilan S Schwartz  1   2 , Chris Kenyon  3   4 , Peiying Feng  5 , Nelesh P Govender  4   6 , Karolina Dukik  7 , Lynne Sigler  8 , Yanping Jiang  9 , J Benjamin Stielow  7 , José F Muñoz  10   11 , Christina A Cuomo  12 , Alfred Botha  13 , Alberto M Stchigel  14 , G Sybren de Hoog  7
Affiliations
Review

50 Years of Emmonsia Disease in Humans: The Dramatic Emergence of a Cluster of Novel Fungal Pathogens

Ilan S Schwartz et al. PLoS Pathog. .
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Maximum likelihood phylogeny inferred using RAxML v. 8.0.0 employing GTRCAT model and 1,000 bootstrap replicates.
Bootstrap branch support above 80% is shown. Multiple sequences in the same species are collapsed. Genera included in the family Ajellomycetaceae are shown, with the exception of Lacazia loboi, which could not meaningfully be aligned.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Clinical, pathological, and mycological facets of a novel Emmonsia-like fungus reported from South Africa.
Top left: Hyperkeratotic skin lesions in a patient with disseminated Emmonsia disease (published with patient consent; courtesy of Dr. Tabie Greyling, Stellenbosch University). Top right: Peripheral blood smear showing neutrophils with multiple phagocytosed yeast-like cells (Wright-Giemsa staining x1,000). Bottom right: Electron microscopy image of conidia (courtesy of Dr. Monica Birkhead, National Institute of Communicable Diseases). Bottom left: Light microscopy image of conidiophores and conidia (x1,000).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Timeline of human cases of disease caused by classical Emmonsia species (with adiaspores at 37°C) and novel Emmonsia-like species (with yeast cells at 37°C).
Vertical bars represent number of cases during 5-year intervals, as determined by literature review. The increase in cases of diseases caused by novel Emmonsia-like species occurring between 2006 and 2015 is primarily driven by recognition of HIV-associated cases in South Africa following the introduction of molecular identification protocols for dimorphic fungal infections in 2008.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Sigler L. Adiaspiromycosis and other infections caused by Emmonsia species In: Hay RJ, Merz WG, editors. Topley and Wilson’s Microbiology and Microbial Infections. 10th ed. London, U.K.: Arnold Hodder; 2005. pp. 809–824.
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