No abstract

Paracoccidioidomycosis is a common fungal infection in Latin America. Few cases have been described in non-endemic countries and their diagnosis without the correct suspicion, bearing in mind that the latency period might be up to 60 years, may not be easy. We report the case of a 59-year-old man who worked as a taxi driver for 25 years in Venezuela. Cutaneous paracoccidioidomycosis was diagnosed one year after he returned to Spain. No internal signs or symptoms of the disease were found and cell-mediated immunity showed no depression. Our case suggested us to consider direct cutaneous infection, although respiratory tract is believed to be the most frequent portal of entry for this infection.

The in vitro activity of three antifungal agents was tested and compared against 151 yeast strains, including ten Candida species, Cryptococcus neoformans, Rhodotorula rubra, and Trichosporon cutaneum. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by a microdilution technique in Shadomy modified liquid medium. The mean MICs of sertaconazole (0.34 mg/L) were lower than those of naftifine (16.3 mg/L) and bifonazole (13.2 mg/L). These results suggest that sertaconazole is more active against Candida spp than other topical agents such as bifonazole and naftifine.