Mycotic Infections Associated with Pulmonary Symptoms in Patients Attending Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kano

Abstract

Pathogenic fungi have been given lesser consideration in the diagnosis of respiratory tract infections compared to Bacteria. This research was therefore aimed at screening for mycotic agents associated with pulmonary symptoms in patients attending Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kano -Nigeria. Two hundred sputum samples from two hundred patients were collected and investigated for mycotic infections. The samples were cultivated on sabouraud's dextrose agar (SDA) containing Gentamycin and incubated at room temperature and at 37 o C for seven to fourteen days. Dalamau plate technique was employed to differentiate yeast types. Germ-tube test was used to confirm the presence of Candida albicans. Out of one hundred and eleven positive samples, 63.06% were males and 36.94% were females. Forty-One (36.94%) were positive with Aspergillus species, forty (36.04%) with Candida species, fifteen (13.51%) with Geotrichum species, ten (9.01%) with Penicillium species, two (1.80%) with Alternaria species; also Curvularia species (1.80%) and one subject (0.90%) was found to be positive with Sepedonium species. Significant association was found between fungal colonization with age and with antibiotic usage (P<0.05). Since the overall incidence was found to be 55.50%, it implies that fungal culture had helped in the diagnosis of fungal pulmonary disease, however, Aspergillus and Candida species were found more vulnerable in compounding bronchopulmonary disorders.

Prevalence of Anaemia and Pulmonary Mycoses in Immunocompromised Subjects: A Review of Nigeria Perspective

“…The high prevalence of fungi isolates in females among HIV/AIDS subjects could be attributed to more females presenting with HIV/AIDS in the hospital settings where this study was conducted. High prevalence of fungi isolates causing mycoses were detected among males subjects than females in Madagascar [1], Northern, Nigeria [2, 29,30,38], which are not in agreement with our present review study.…”

“…This study recorded a prevalence of 8.7%-73.6% among immuno-compromised subjects. The prevalence of 55.6% was reported in Sao Paulo, Brazil among AIDS patients [44], 55.5% in Kano, Nigeria among HIV and TB co-infected subjects [30], 78.6% in Gombe, Nigeria among TB patients [29], 70.7% in Mbarara, South-Western Uganda [45], 12.8% in Beijing, China by Shailaja et al [46], 47.6% in South African [47]. The differences in the prevalence of pulmonary mycoses in various populations may be attributed to the differences in sample size of recruited subjects, variations in the risk factors common to a particular environment, mode of sample collection/processing after collection and diagnostic approaches used.…”

PCR-Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) genes sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of clinical and environmental Aspergillus species associated with HIV-TB co infected patients in a hospital in Abeokuta, southwestern Nigeria

“…In Nigeria, high prevalence of 51.25% aspergillosis was associated with pulmonary symptoms in patients attending Infectious Diseases Hospital in Kano 13 . A cytologic assessment of pulmonary aspergillosis in the North-East Nigeria reported 46% in HIV, and 89% in TB patients 14 …”