Aggressive cutaneous zygomycosis caused by Apophysomyces variabilis in an immunocompetent child

Ibrahim A Al-Zaydani; Ahmed M Al-Hakami; Martin R P Joseph; Walid M Kassem; Mohamed K Almaghrabi; Abdalla Nageeb; Mohamed E Hamid

doi:10.1016/j.mmcr.2015.12.003

Aggressive cutaneous zygomycosis caused by Apophysomyces variabilis in an immunocompetent child

Med Mycol Case Rep. 2015 Dec 13:10:11-3. doi: 10.1016/j.mmcr.2015.12.003. eCollection 2015 Dec.

Authors

Ibrahim A Al-Zaydani¹, Ahmed M Al-Hakami², Martin R P Joseph², Walid M Kassem³, Mohamed K Almaghrabi², Abdalla Nageeb², Mohamed E Hamid²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Clinical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Surgery, Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

A zygomycetous fungus was observed in a biopsy of a 9-year-old male. The patient was presented with severe cutaneous lesions subsequent to a traumatic car accident. Following fungal detection, antifungal treatment was prescribed but condition deteriorated rapidly and above knee amputation was done as lifesaving and to control fungal infection. Analysis of the 28 S rRNA gene (accession KT149770) aligned the isolate with members of the genus Apophysomyces and the pathogen was identified as Apophysomces variabilis.

Keywords: 28S rRNA gene; Amputation; Apophysomyces; Aseer region; Zygomycetes.