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Molekularbiologische Studien zur Diagnose und Epidemiologie der Aspergillus ‐Infektion
Author(s) -
Williamson Emma C. M.,
Leeming J. P.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
mycoses
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.13
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1439-0507
pISSN - 0933-7407
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0507.1999.tb00005.x
Subject(s) - aspergillosis , aspergillus , epidemiology , aspergillus fumigatus , biology , molecular epidemiology , immunology , cystic fibrosis , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , pathology , genetics , gene , genotype
Summary Molecular techniques have been applied to the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis and to investigate the ecology and epidemiology of Aspergillus . Recent advances in diagnosis include the development of PCRs targeting either panfungal or Aspergillus ‐specific sequences, using whole blood or serum samples. When a sensitive PCR is used, invasive aspergillosis in bone marrow transplant patients can be detected several weeks before antigen tests become positive, and a positive PCR often pre‐dates the institution of antifungal therapy. The role of PCR in monitoring response to therapy in immunocompromised patients is unclear. No prospective studies have yet demonstrated that management incorporating PCR alters the poor outcome of invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients. Molecular typing of Aspergillus fumigatus has shown wide geographical dispersal of indistinguishable strains. This, combined with the observation that multiple strains may be isolated from individual colonised patients with cystic fibrosis and from immunocompromised patients with disseminated disease, makes the elucidation of the epidemiology of aspergillosis relatively complex.