title: Forty years of chromoblastomycosis in Madagascar: a review.
abstract: Confirmed cases of chromoblastomycosis in Madagascar from 1955 through 1994 were studied retrospectively. The total number of cases reported was 1,343, of which 98.5% were confirmed by histopathology. Only 30.8% of the cases showed a positive cultivation on mycologic media, and Fonsecaea pedrosoi was identified from 61.8% of the fungal strains. Two distinct areas of endemic chromoblastomycosis, each with a characteristic ecosystem and a single species, are identified. Madagascar represents the most important focus of this fungal disease described to date in the world.
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Unit, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Esterre
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andriantsimahavandy
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Ramarcel
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pecarrere
mesh_terms: D002862:Chromoblastomycosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004463:Ecology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008270:Madagascar / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D003904:Mitosporic Fungi; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies