Review of literature on medical mycology in the philippines, 1955–1962

Abstract

The Philippines is an archipelago of about 7,100 tropical islands situated in the western Pacific Ocean 600 miles off the southeast corner of Asia. Located only about 15 ° north of the equator, the country has its share of tropical diseases, such as malaria, yaws, filariasis, schistosomiasis, typhoid fever, dysentery, intestinal parasitism, and mycotic infections. The beginnings of medical mycology in the Philippines may be traced to a number of publications by a singular group of American scientists, including STRONG, MUSGRAV~ and WADE, who worked in the Bureau of Science in Manila during the early years of the American regime in the Philippines, at the turn of the century. STRONC 1 in 1906, described what is probably the first recorded case of mycotic infection in the Philippines. The patient was a 35-year old Filipino woman with a skin lesion simulating a Delhi boil and exhibiting ttistoplasma-like organisms in tissue sections. These

Serious fungal infections in the Philippines

“…It is not known if disseminated histoplasmosis contributes to illness and death in AIDS in the Philippines, but it is likely. Histoplasmin reactivity has been documented, and at least nine cases of histoplasmosis have been reported [ 2 , 13 , 14 ]. Hand in hand with an effective AIDS prevention program and prompt and adequate treatment of cases with antiretroviral drugs, proper management of opportunistic fungal infections is required.…”

“…In 1955, dermatologists surveyed the schools where two children with tinea capitis studied; however, no additional case was detected. Back then, experts surmised that tinea capitis was uncommon in the Philippines and was not a public health problem, and this seems the case to this day [ 2 ]. The common dermatophytes isolated were Microsporum canis, Trichophyton tonsurans , T. mentagrophytes , and M. gypseum [ 2 ].…”

“…Back then, experts surmised that tinea capitis was uncommon in the Philippines and was not a public health problem, and this seems the case to this day [ 2 ]. The common dermatophytes isolated were Microsporum canis, Trichophyton tonsurans , T. mentagrophytes , and M. gypseum [ 2 ]. A total of 9,180 (11.5% of new patients) consulted for superficial mycoses in ten PDS institutions in 2015.…”

“…If eumycetoma presents with chronic nodules and draining sinuses, chromoblastomycosis appears as warty lesions. A few cases of chromoblastomycosis have also been reported in the Philippines, including a 58-year-old man who presented with verrucous lesions of 25 years and a 71-year-old man with warty lesions of 48 years duration [ 2 , 27 ]. Both were caused by Fonsecaea compacta .…”

“…In the Philippines, most of the initial epidemiological studies on mycoses focused on superficial fungal infections [ 1 – 3 ]. Since the 1950s, superficial mycoses have been in the top five most common diagnoses in outpatient dermatology clinics [ 2 ]. For several decades, fungal diagnostic procedures in the Philippines were not routinely done and were limited to the isolation, culture, and identification of fungi involved in skin, hair, and nail infections.…”