The rare, but emerging mold Aspergillus terreus is an important pathogen in some geographical areas, like Tyrol (Austria) and Houston (Texas). The reason for this high prevalence is unknown. The present serosurveillance study aimed to evaluate the trends in levels of A. terreus-specific IgG antibodies in various regions of Tyrol and to compare the results to the environmental spread of A. terreus in Tyrol. Therefore, 1058 serum samples from healthy blood donors were evaluated. Data revealed a significant difference between the Tyrolean Upland and Lowland. Moreover, female participants had higher A. terreus IgG antibody levels than male participants. The differences found in our study are consistent with the distributional differences in environmental and clinical samples described in previous studies, supporting that A. terreus IgG antibody levels reflect the environmental epidemiology of A. terreus in Tyrol.
Keywords: Aspergillus terreus; IgG antibodies; cross-sectional study; emerging mold; population-based; serosurveillance.