Fusarium disease is caused by Fusarium mold species and is most commonly seen in immunocompromised individuals. It can be fatal and is more common during hot, rainy seasons. Accurate diagnosis requires a tissue biopsy, and treatment is difficult due to drug resistance and the mold’s production of toxins.
Fusarium disease is an infection caused by Fusarium species of mold. Infections with these mold species are most commonly seen in people who are immunocompromised, meaning that their immune system has been weakened in some way. Fusariosis is treatable, but requires the infection to be diagnosed quickly. Additionally, successful treatment requires that the patient’s immune system be strengthened in some way to prevent reinfection.
While other mold species have been responsible for opportunistic infections in immunocompromised people in the past, Fusarium mold species are increasingly common. The main reason for this change is that newer and more effective types of chemotherapy treatments have led to a greater degree of immune system suppression in many patients, leaving these people more vulnerable to infection. People with a blood malignancy, such as leukemia, and people who have had bone marrow transplants are particularly at risk because these two groups of patients tend to undergo highly immunosuppressive chemotherapy. Fusariosis can be fatal in these cases.
Infections with Fusarium mold species are more common during hot, rainy seasons. This is because mold releases more spores in such climates. The most common methods of infection are respiration of the spores or infection through skin breaks.
People with fusariosis typically have symptoms such as high fever that doesn’t respond to treatment with antimicrobial drugs, lung infections, and skin lesions. The lesions are tender to the touch and are usually found on the extremities of the body. One or more organs can also be affected. Accurate diagnosis often requires a tissue biopsy to differentiate between Fusarium and other mold species.
Fusariosis is particularly dangerous because the Fusarium mold species that infect humans are capable of producing fungal toxins known as mycotoxins. The toxins produced by these species are capable of further suppressing the immune system, thus aiding the spread of the infection. With the immune system further suppressed, the infection is even more difficult to treat effectively.
Another factor that increases the difficulty of treatment is that these infections are often resistant to antifungal drugs. Currently, the main drugs used to treat such infections are amphotericin-B and a broad-spectrum antifungal called voriconazole. Due to drug resistance issues and the mold’s production of toxins, this treatment is typically combined with additional medications to help stimulate the growth and activation of new immune cells. In some cases, infected tissue must be removed surgically to prevent reinfection.
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