Paracoccidioides spp. isolation from environmental samples is rare and hardly reproducible. Molecular techniques have facilitated the fungal detection. However, it can be still difficult. Some strategies to enhance the capacity of DNA detection have been adopted, including the analysis of soil samples belonging to the habitat of animals from which Paracoccidioides spp. have already been isolated, notably armadillo burrows. To date, the detection of Paracoccidioides spp. has not yet been reported from outbreak hotspots. Clusters and outbreaks of acute paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), usually a more severe clinical form, have currently occurred in urban areas being associated to climate changes, deforestation, and great constructions. These occurrences potentially signalise the fungus’ environmental niche, a riddle not yet solved. The authors performed an environmental investigation in a deeply disturbed area, after a highway construction in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where a recent outbreak of acute PCM occurred. Specific DNA sequences of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis were detected in shallow soil samples around the highway, reinforcing the association between the road construction and this PCM outbreak.

BACKGROUND Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis caused by dimorphic pathogenic fungi belonging to the Sporothrix genus. Pathogenic Sporothrix species typically produce melanin, which is known to be a virulence factor. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to perform phenotypic, genotypic, and virulence analyses of two distinct Sporothrix brasiliensis strains isolated from the same lesion on a patient from Rio de Janeiro. METHODS AND FINDINGS Genotypic analyses by partial sequencing of the calmodulin, β-tubulin, and chitin synthase genes, as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-fingerprinting by T3B, M13, and GACA, showed that the isolates were very similar but not identical. Both isolates had similar phenotypic characteristics and effectively produced melanin in their yeast forms, accounting for their ability of causing disease in a murine sporotrichosis model. Remarkably, isolate B was albino in its environmental form but caused more severe disease than the pigmented A isolate. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that the patient was infected by two genetically and biologically distinct S. brasiliensis that vary in their production of melanin in their environmental forms. The results underscore the importance of characterizing phenotypically different isolates found in the same clinical specimen or patient.

Os Autores apresentam um caso de paracoccidioidomicose em indígena da tribo Suruí, Estado de Rondônia. Trata-se de paciente adulto, sexo masculino, tendo sido o diagnóstico confirmado com base em exame micológico, sorológico e radiográfico. Foi insitituída terapêutica com a associação sulfametoxazol 800 mg + trimetoprima 160 mg a cada 12 horas. A avaliação do paciente realizada seis meses após o início do tratamento revelou melhora no estado geral, regressão do quadro radiológico, negativação da prova de precipitação em tubo capilar e positivação da intradermorcação com paracoccidioidina. Os Autores também revêem os casos de paracoccidioidomicose descritos na região, em particular no que ser refere ao grupo indígena Suruí.

The Authors report a case of paracoccidioidomycosis in a Surui Indian patient from the state of Rondonia, Brazilian Amazon. The subject is an adult male, having been diagnosed on the basis of mycologic, Serologic, and radiographic exams. The prescribed therapy was sulfametoxazol 800 mg associated with trimetoprim 160 mg every 12 hours. A revaluation of the patient conducted six months after the beginning of chemotherapy indicated overall improvement of his physical condition and of the radiologic picture, negativeness of the test of precipitin in capillary tube, and positiveness of the skin test with paracoccidioidin. The Authors also reviewed the cases of paracoccidioidomycosis described in the region, especially among the Surui Indian population.