PENICILLIUM MARNEFFEI - AIDS DEFINING ILLNESS

Background: Penicillium marneffei infection is the emerging fungal infection in the present day global scenario of HIV pandemic. P. marneffei is a dimorphic fungi with mycelial growth at 37oC. Suspicion of P.marneffei infection arises when a immunocompromised individuals especially HIV positive persons present with Molluscum contagiosum like skin lesions. But pulmonary manifestations are not characteristic of P.marneffei infection unless we test the sputum for fungal growth in individuals with low CD4 counts ,we may miss P.marneffei respiratory infection. Material and methods: 100 sputum samples from HIV patients with cough were examined for fungal pathogens by inoculating the samples on SDA and incubated at 28oC. The samples with greenish yellow mycelial growth with diffusible red pigment were inoculated on blood agar and SDA and incubates at 37oC for conversion to yeast. Results: We isolated two cases of P.marneffei out of 100 samples. The CD4 counts of the cases were 33 and 84. Conclusions: Early diagnosis and treatment reduces the mortality P.marneffei HIV patients