The new kids on the fungal block

Professor Deborah Marriott is clinical director of the Antimicrobial Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Unit, and senior specialist of the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia. In this presentation, “The New Kids On The Fungal Block”, she highlights two incongruous fungal organisms that are becoming increasingly important in a number of clinical settings.

Professor Marriott discusses the history, taxonomy, epidemiology, transmission of disease, clinical presentations and recent studies of Pneumocystis jirovecii (previously classified as Pneumocystis carinii) and microsporidia. Pneumocystis jirovecii is the causative pathogen of pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) and is emerging as a nosocomial pathogen, particularly in renal transplant patients. Microsporidia, highly reduced and derived relatives of fungi, have also been reported more frequently, and exhibit geographic and clinical diversity. As the world of fungi is constantly changing, Professor Marriott encourages early intervention and a high index of suspicion to lower morbidity and mortality rates.