Aspergillus species

A. terreus (Thom). View more images

Colony characteristics. Colonies (CzA) yellowish-brown to cinnamon-brown, consisting of a dense felt of conidiophores.

Microscopy. Conidiophore stipes smooth walled, hyaline. Conidial heads loosely columnar. Vesicles subspherical, 10-20 micrometre diam. Conidiogenous cells biseriate. Metulae as long as the phialides. Conidia smooth walled, striate with SEM, spherical to broadly ellipsoidal, 1.5-2.5 micrometre, hyaline.

Pathogenicity. The species is a rare cause of allergic or invasive bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (Moore et al., 1988, Oshima et al., 1997, Iwen, 1998). Nosocomial infections have been reported (Flynn et al., 1993). It is regularly implicated in a wide variety of infections in humans, such as cutaneous, ophthalmic (Das et al., 1993, Gupta & Elewski, 1996), pulmonary and disseminated infections (Waller et al., 1991, Tritz & Woods, 1993), endocarditis (Chim et al., 1998), myocarditis (Russack, 1990). Keratitis was reported by Singh et al., (1990) and septic arthritis of the knee by Steinfeld et al. (1997). It has been reported from other vertebrates, such as pigeons (Pal, 1992) and goat, dog, cow (Smith, 1989)

References -

Selected historical references are listed below

Chim, C.S., Ho, P.L., Yuen, S.T. & Yuen, K.Y. (1998). Fungal endocarditis in bone marrow transplantation: case report and review of literature. J. Infect. 37(3): 287-291.

Das, T., Vyas, P. & Sharma, S. (1993). Aspergillus terreus postoperative endophthalmitis. Br. J. Ophthalmol. 77: 386-387.

Flynn, P.M., Williams, B.G., Hethrington, S.V., Williams, B.F., Giannini, M.A. & Pearson, T.A., (1993). Aspergillus terreus during hospital renovation. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 14: 363-365.

Gupta, A.K. & Elewski, B.E. (1996). Nondermatophyte causes of onychomycosis and superficial mycoses. Curr. Top. Med. Mycol. 7(1): 87-97.

Iwen, P.C., Rupp, M.E., Langnas, A.N., Reed, E.C. & Hinrichs, S.H. (1998). Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis due to Aspergillus terreus: 12-year experience and review of the literature. Clin-Infect-Dis. 26(5): 1092-1097.

Klich, M.A. & Pitt, J.I., (1988). A laboratory guide to the common Aspergillus species and their telomorphs. CSIRO,

North Ryde, Australia, 116 pp.

Moore, C.K., Hellreich, M.A., Coblentz, C.L. & Roggli, V.L., (1988). Aspergillus terreus as a case of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Chest 94: 889-891.

Oshima, M., Soda, H. Oda, H. & Watanabe, A.(1997) A case of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis caused by Aspergillus terreus. Nihon Kyobu Shikkan Gakkai Zasshi. 35(12): 1418-1424. (In Japanese)

Pal, M., (1992). Disseminating Aspergillus terreus infection in a caged pigeon. Mycopathologia 119: 137-139.

Raper, K.B. & Fennell, D.I. (1965).The genus Aspergillus. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 686 pp.

Russack, V. (1990). Aspergillus terreus myocarditis: report of a case and review of the literature. Am. J. Cardiovasc. Pathol. 3(3): 275-279.

Samson, R.A. & Reenan-Hoekstra, E. van, (1988). Introduction to food-borne fungi, 3rd ed. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Baarn, 299 pp.

Singh, S.M., Sharma, S. & Chatterjee, P.K., (1990). Clinical and experimental mycotic keratitis caused by Aspergillus terreus and the effect of subconjunctival oxiconazole treatment in the animal model. Mycopathologia 112: 127-137.

Smith, J.M.B. (1989). Opportunistic Mycoses of man and other Animals. CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, UK.

Steinfeld, S., Durez, P., Hauzeur, J.P., Motte, S. & Appelboom, T. (1997). Articular aspergillosis: two case reports and review of the literature. Br. J. Rheumatol. 36(12): 1331-1334.

Tritz, D.M. & Woods, G.L., (1993). Fatal disseminating infection with Aspergillus terreus in immunocompromised hosts. Clin. Infect. Dis. 16: 118-122.

Waller, J., Lutun, P., Koenig, H., Marcellin, L., Boudjama, K., Robles, G. & Altieri, M., (1991). Aspergillose disseminee a Aspergillus terreus chez une transplantee hepatique. J. Mycol. Med. 1: 168-171.