Emergomyces: The global rise of new dimorphic fungal pathogens

Decades-old studies of fungi associated with mammalian lungs and modern DNA sequencing approaches help define the nature of the lung mycobiome

“…These include species of Pneumocystis, which are obligate lung commensals detected in 20 to 60% of human lungs [16,17], Aspergillus fumigatus, which is the primary cause of aspergillosis, and members of the order Onygenales. Medically important members of the Onygenales include species of Coccidioides, Paracoccidioides, Blastomyces, Emmonsia, and Histoplasma as well as members of a newly described genus, Emergomyces [18,19]. While members of these groups are often associated with some type of pathology, it is now a legitimate question whether many of them are part of a normal lung mycobiome.…”

There is more to the “intracellular yeasts” than meets the eye

“…africanus may present with localized cutaneous lesions (papules, nodules, ulcers) or pulmonary manifestations (chest X-ray abnormalities like diffuse reticulonodular disease, consolidation, effusions and/or lymphadenopathy), which are most common, while gastrointestinal tract, liver, lymph nodes and bone marrow are less commonly involved. 3 All reported cases of other species have involved disseminated disease. Whether localized or disseminated, emergomycosis is almost always seen in immunocompromised patients (HIV infection, solid organ transplantation, hematological malignancies, immunosuppressant therapy) 3 Since 2016, two cases of emergomycosis have been reported from India.…”

“…3 All reported cases of other species have involved disseminated disease. Whether localized or disseminated, emergomycosis is almost always seen in immunocompromised patients (HIV infection, solid organ transplantation, hematological malignancies, immunosuppressant therapy) 3 Since 2016, two cases of emergomycosis have been reported from India. 4 It is also interesting to note that since it was first described, HIV-associated emergomycosis has become the most common endemic mycosis in South Africa.…”

The Role of the Interleukin-17 Axis and Neutrophils in the Pathogenesis of Endemic and Systemic Mycoses

“…These systemic mycoses are caused by a group of thermally dimorphic fungal pathogens belonging to different genera of several species including Histoplasma capsulatum, Coccidioides spp., Blastomyces spp., Paracoccidioides spp., Talaromyces marneffei and the newly described pathogen Emergomyces spp. (Sepuĺveda et al, 2017;Turissini et al, 2017;Kirkland and Fierer, 2018;Cao et al, 2019;Schwartz et al, 2019;Schwartz and Kauffman, 2020). Additionally, these mycoses are usually geographically restricted; thus, histoplasmosis is found worldwide, coccidioidomycosis is endemic in some regions of the United States and some countries of Latin America, blastomycosis is endemic in North America and Africa, paracoccidioidomycosis is restricted to Latin America, talaromycosis is endemic in Asian countries, while emergomycosis has been reported in Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America (Sepuĺveda et al, 2017;Turissini et al, 2017;Kirkland and Fierer, 2018;Cao et al, 2019;Schwartz et al, 2019;Schwartz and Kauffman, 2020).…”