We detected Emergomyces africanus, a thermally dimorphic fungus that causes an HIV-associated systemic mycosis, by PCR in 18 (30%) of 60 soil samples from a wide range of habitats in South Africa. Direct and indirect culture techniques were unsuccessful. Experimental intraperitoneal inoculation of conidia induced murine disease.
Keywords: Emergomyces africanus; South Africa; emmonsia; environmental microbiology; fungal infections; fungi; mice; mycoses; soil.