Coccidioides immitis
MICROBIOLOGY
- Causative organisms and endemic regions
- Coccidioides immitis: Primarily found in the Central Valley of California, but pockets are as far north as eastern Washington state.
- Coccidioides posadasii: Primarily foundin the desert areas of Arizona, Texas, Utah, Mexico, and Central and South America
- Both species can be found in Southern California
- Dimorphic fungal characteristics [Fig 1]:
- Environmental form: filamentous with septated hyphae that grow in soil. When a dry spell follows rain, the hyphae become brittle, and small (~3-5 μm in diameter) fungal particles termed arthroconidia break off, become airborne, and potentially inhaled.
- Invasive form at 37°C: following inhalation or occasionally via percutaneous entry, arthroconidia transform into large (~60-75 µm in diameter) structures termed spherules that contain hundreds of small (~2-5 µm in diameter) structures termed endospores. When the mature spherules rupture, endospores are released, which can, in turn, form additional spherules [Fig 2].
- Environmental conditions
- Preferentially grows in regions of California, Southwest U.S. and parts of Mexico that have hot summers, moderate winters and little rainfall.
- Isolated pockets of C. posadasii are also found in parts of South and Central America.
- Growth of the fungus as far north as central Washington state has been described.
- The environmental reservoir is suspected to involve rodents
- Micro: grows readily on standard fungal media.
- Coccidioides grown in culture can be a significant laboratory hazard and must be handled cautiously in an appropriate safety cabinet.
- When submitting specimens, alert the micro lab if suspected.
- When submitting specimens, alert the micro lab if suspected.
- Coccidioides grown in culture can be a significant laboratory hazard and must be handled cautiously in an appropriate safety cabinet.
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Last updated: June 13, 2024
Citation
Shoham, Shmuel. "Coccidioides Immitis." Johns Hopkins ABX Guide, The Johns Hopkins University, 2024. Pediatrics Central, peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540139/all/Coccidioides_immitis.
Shoham S. Coccidioides immitis. Johns Hopkins ABX Guide. The Johns Hopkins University; 2024. https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540139/all/Coccidioides_immitis. Accessed October 3, 2024.
Shoham, S. (2024). Coccidioides immitis. In Johns Hopkins ABX Guide. The Johns Hopkins University. https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540139/all/Coccidioides_immitis
Shoham S. Coccidioides Immitis [Internet]. In: Johns Hopkins ABX Guide. The Johns Hopkins University; 2024. [cited 2024 October 03]. Available from: https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540139/all/Coccidioides_immitis.
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