Emerging microbes & infections
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Emerg Microbes Infect · Mar 2016
ReviewTalaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei infection in non-HIV-infected patients.
Talaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei is an important pathogenic thermally dimorphic fungus causing systemic mycosis in Southeast Asia. The clinical significance of T. marneffei became evident when the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome epidemic arrived in Southeast Asia in 1988. Subsequently, a decline in the incidence of T. marneffei infection among HIV-infected patients was seen in regions with access to highly active antiretroviral therapy and other control measures for HIV. ⋯ The higher case-fatality rate of T. marneffei infection in non-HIV-infected than HIV-infected patients might be related to delayed diagnosis due to the lack of clinical suspicion. Correction of the underlying immune defects and early use of antifungals are important treatment strategies. Clinicians should be familiar with the changing epidemiology and clinical management of T. marneffei infection among non-HIV-infected patients.