Fusarium dimerum as a cause of human eye infections.
Fusarium dimerum, typically a soil fungus, was isolated from an adult male suffering from a corneal ulcer following an injury to the eye. This fungus has not been described to cause human infections in South Africa and has not been recorded from soil, plant or organic material in this country. The macro- and microscopic characteristics of the isolate were found to be indistinguishable from described strains. Its authenticity was confirmed by comparing it to other human isolates from the eye obtained in the USA, thus rendering this the first report of F. dimerum from an eye infection in a human in South Africa.
Vismer
H F
HF
Medical Research Council, PROMEC Unit, Tygerberg, South Africa. hester.vismer@mrc.ac.za
Marasas
W F O
WF
Rheeder
J P
JP
Joubert
J J
JJ
D000328:Adult; D003320:Corneal Ulcer / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005670:Fusarium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007634:Keratitis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009181:Mycoses / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D013019:South Africa