Blastomyces dermatitidisin bats: first report of its isolation from the liver ofRhinopoma hardwickei hardwickeiGray

Abstract

Blastomyces dermatitidis is reported for the first time from the fiver of Rhinopoma hardwickei hardwickei Gray (the 'lesser rat-tailed bat'); it was cultured from one of 46 samples of the bat captured on December 10, 1982, from the basement of Safdar-Jang Tomb, a historical monument in New Delhi. The fungus was not found in 581 other bats representing R. hardwickei hardwickei, three more insectivorous and one frugivorons species investigated from several sites in Delhi and New Delhi metropolitan areas. The identity of the isolate was based upon its macroscopic and microscopic cultural morphology, dimorphic character and verification of pathogenicity for white mice. It was further confirmed by determining the capacity of the isolate to produce the 'A' exoantigen specific for B. dermatitidis. The infected bat did not manifest any obvious clinical signs and symptoms of illness. Its visceral organs were free from macroscopic lesions, and histopathologically none of them including the liver, revealed any fungal elements or tissue response. B. dermatitidis was not found in any of the 34 samples of bat guano investigated by direct culture or mouse-inoculation technique. The results reinforce the available evidence for the endemic occurrence of B. dermatitidis in India and focus on the possible role of R. hardwickei hardwickei as a natural host or vector for this pathogen.In earlier studies from our laboratory, we reported for the first time the isolation of Blastomyces dermatitidis from a bat, Rhinopoma hardwickei hardwickei Gray, an insectivorous species trapped from the abandoned first floor of a school building in Old Delhi [10], and the first isolation of the pathogen from human clinical material in India [15]. In this communication, we report for the first time the isolation of B.dermatitidis from the liver of one of the bats belonging to R. hardwiekei hardwickei collected from a roosting site in the basement of Safdar-Jang Tomb, an eighteenth century monument in New Delhi. METHODS Bats and collection sitesThe study was carried out during mid April 1981 to December 1983, covering 627 bats collected from six sites distributed over Delhi and New Delhi metropolitan areas. Five hundred and forty-one of the bats belonged to four insectivorous species and the remaining 86 to a frugivorous species, Rousettus leschenaulti Desmarest. The insectivo-69 Med Mycol Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by York University Libraries on 11/20/14For personal use only.

Worldwide Phylogenetic Distributions and Population Dynamics of the Genus Histoplasma

“…The fungus was isolated from internal organs as well as in bat guano-enriched soils [ 42 , 43 ]. Other closely related human fungal pathogens such as Coccidioides posadasii [ 87 ], Blastomyces dermatitidis [ 88 ], and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis [ 89 ] have been isolated only sporadically from bats. Bats are widely distributed across many continents and ecosystems, being one of the largest groups of mammals, second in number of species after the order Rodentia and first in number of individuals [ 90 ].…”

CandidaSpecies Isolated from Urban Bats of Londrina‐Paraná, Brazil and their Potential Virulence

“…The other fungi recovered from bats or their guano are as follows: Coccidioides immitis , Cryptococcus neoformans , Microscoporum gypseum , Sporotrichum sp., Trychophytum spp., (Kajihiro, 1965), Paracoccidioides braziliensis (Greer and Bolaños, 1977), Wangiella dermatitidis (Reiss and Mok, 1979), Candida spp. (Kajihiro, 1965; Mok et al., 1982; Oyeka, 1994), Blastomyces dermatitides (Randhawa et al., 1985), Trichosporon spp. (Mok et al., 1982; Sugita et al., 2005) and Malassezia spp.…”

Monitoramento E Ações Para O Controle De Agentes Zoonóticos Em Comunidades Adjacentes a Uma Floresta Urbana No Município Do Rio De Janeiro

“…KEYWORDS: Cryptococcus spp., Molossus molossus, Zoonosis. (BOTELHO et al, 2012;DA PAZ et al, 2018;DIAS et al, 2011b;GROSE;TAMSITT, 1965;KAJIHIRO, 1965;NOVÁKOVÁ;KOLAŘÍK, 2010;RANDHAWA et al, 1985;REISS;MOK, 1979;ROGERS;BENEKE, 1964;SUGITA et al, 2005;TAYLOR;STOIANOFF;VANDERWOLF et al, 2013).…”