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. 2020 Dec;7(4):141-152.
doi: 10.1007/s40475-020-00216-z. Epub 2020 Nov 6.

Subcutaneous Mycoses in Travelers

Andrés Tirado-Sánchez  1 , Carlos Franco-Paredes  2   3 , Alexandro Bonifaz  1
Affiliations

Subcutaneous Mycoses in Travelers

Andrés Tirado-Sánchez et al. Curr Trop Med Rep. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose of review: The increase in international travel in recent decades has contributed to the risk of acquiring diseases considered endemic to a region or country and the change in the epidemiology of these diseases. Endemic mycoses that may be acquired by travelers in the short or long term are endemic subcutaneous mycoses such as sporotrichosis and lobomycosis, while endemic systemic mycoses are a group of serious diseases including histoplasmosis and coccidioidomycosis. Herein, we review the current knowledge and highlight the most important aspects of these fungal infections in travelers.

Recent findings: The most relevant advances in the study of these mycoses involve the epidemiological distribution; human mycoses can be fatal and there are few antifungal drugs available, increasing drug resistance, and a risk of emerging fungal diseases associated with climate change, as well as the increasing virulence, and the diagnostic strategies that may be limited in many countries.

Summary: Although endemic mycoses are relatively rare, they should be considered as potentially travel-related illnesses. A recent or late trip to an endemic country may guide the clinical suspicion, an early diagnosis, and the institution of effective therapy.

Keywords: Endemic mycoses; Epidemiology; Histoplasmosis; Sporotrichosis; Travel-related.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(A) Cutaneous-lymphatic sporotrichosis. (B) Yeasts of S. schenckii (PAS, × 40). (C) Chronic chromoblastomycosis verrucosa. (D) Muriform cells (H&E, × 40). (E) Eumycetoma. (F) Grains of M. mycetomatis (H&E, × 10)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(A) Histoplasmosis with multiple papular lesions in an AIDS patient. (B) Yeast clusters of H. capsulatum with a refractory halo (PAS, × 100). (C) Abscesses and fistulas of secondary Coccidioidomycosis. (D) Coccidioides spherules (Grocott, × 40). (E) Paracoccidioidomycosis, ex-ulcerations on the lip. (F) Multi-budding yeast of P. brasiliensis (Grocott, × 40)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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