Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jun 1;37(3):185-191.
doi: 10.1097/QCO.0000000000001009. Epub 2024 Mar 18.

Fusarium species central nervous system infection

Affiliations
Review

Fusarium species central nervous system infection

Nora Strong et al. Curr Opin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: Fusarium species are an increasingly important cause of meningitis and invasive disease in immunocompromised patients as well as in otherwise healthy patients as observed in two recent healthcare-associated outbreaks. This review summarizes recently published information on treatment and diagnosis of this infection.

Recent findings: Incidence of Fusarium species meningitis and invasive fusariosis are increasing. Molecular techniques are improving the speed of diagnosis. New antifungal agents in development show good in vitro activity against some Fusarium species. New technologies, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) filtration, may play a role in treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disease. Due to the continued prime importance of the host immune system in recovery, immunomodulatory treatments may play a role in treatment.

Summary: The overall incidence of CNS fusariosis is increasing with a continued poor prognosis, but new diagnostic and treatment modalities are in development which may offer improvements.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Matsuo T, Wurster S, Jiang Y, et al. Invasive fusariosis in patients with leukaemia in the era of mould-active azoles: increasing incidence, frequent breakthrough infections and lack of improved outcomes. J Antimicrob Chemother 2023; 79:297–306.
    1. Tortorano AM, Richardson M, Roilides E, et al. ESCMID and ECMM joint guidelines on diagnosis and management of hyalohyphomycosis: Fusarium spp., Scedosporium spp. and others. Clin Microbiol Infect 2014; 20:27–46.
    1. World Health Organization, WHO. WHO fungal priority pathogens list to guide research, development and public health action. 2022.
    1. Hoenigl M, Jenks JD, Egger M, et al. Treatment of Fusarium infection of the central nervous system: a review of past cases to guide therapy for the ongoing 2023 outbreak in the United States and Mexico. Mycopathologia 2023; 188:973–981.
    1. Hoenigl M, Salmanton-Garcia J, Walsh TJ, et al. Global guideline for the diagnosis and management of rare mould infections: an initiative of the European Confederation of Medical Mycology in cooperation with the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology and the American Society for Microbiology. Lancet Infect Dis 2021; 21:e246–e257.

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources