Invasive aspergillosis is characterized by vascular invasion and thrombosis. In order to determine the antifungal activity of human platelets, hyphal elongation and metabolic activity of a clinical A. fumigatus isolate were measured. Genome-wide identification of differentially expressed genes in A. fumigatus was performed after exposure to platelets for 15, 30, 60 and 180 min. Data were analyz...

Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitous saprophytic mold (67) that forms airborne spores (conidia). Humans inhale, on average, hundreds of these infectious propagules daily. In immune competent hosts, these encounters are of no further significance—conidia are killed and cleared by cells of the pulmonary immune system. However, disease occurs when the host response is either too strong or too wea...

Aspergillus fumigatus remains a major respiratory pathogen in birds. In poultry, infection by A. fumigatus may induce significant economic losses particularly in turkey production. A. fumigatus develops and sporulates easily in poor quality bedding or contaminated feedstuffs in indoor farm environments. Inadequate ventilation and dusty conditions increase the risk of bird exposure to aerosolize...

Aerosolization of the thermophilous fungal opportunist Aspergillus fumigatus from mechanically agitated compost piles was examined at a pilot-scale sewage sludge composting facility and two other selected test sites. Aerosols of A. fumigatus downwind from stationary compost piles were insignificant in comparison with those downwind from agitated piles. These aerosols were generated by a front-e...

OBJECTIVES We investigated the in vitro activity of various triazoles in two-drug combinations with the echinocandin caspofungin against clinical isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus. METHOD Conidial suspensions were prepared from 20 clinical isolates of A. fumigatus highly susceptible to itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole and ravuconazole (MIC-0 range 0.125-1 mg/L), and caspofungin (MIC-0...

Gliotoxin is a secondary metabolite produced by several fungi including the opportunistic animal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. It is a member of the epipolythiodioxopiperazine (ETP) class of toxins characterised by a disulphide bridged cyclic dipeptide. A putative cluster of 12 genes involved in gliotoxin biosynthesis has been identified in A. fumigatus by a comparative genomics approach base...

This short report serves as a warning to the unwary of possible "pseudoclusters" of infection with Aspergillus fumigatus as shown by the typing system, random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). This was demonstrated by typing 10 epidemiologically distinct isolates of A fumigatus using two different preparations of Taq DNA polymerase. One of the enzymes did not discriminate between the iso...

OBJECTIVES Resistance to azole antifungal drugs in Aspergillus fumigatus that is not mediated by target gene mutations is now common in some locations. The aim of this study was to investigate possible new mechanisms of resistance in non-target resistance. METHODS Twelve azole-resistant A. fumigatus isolates previously shown not to carry mutations in cyp51A were tested to determine whether th...

Aspergillus fumigatus is a common mould whose spores are a component of the normal airborne flora. Immune dysfunction permits developmental growth of inhaled spores in the human lung causing aspergillosis, a significant threat to human health in the form of allergic, and life-threatening invasive infections. The success of A. fumigatus as a pathogen is unique among close phylogenetic relatives ...

Most of the information available about Aspergillus infections has originated from the study of A. fumigatus, the most frequent species in the genus. This review aims to compare the pathogenicity and clinical aspects of Aspergillosis caused by A. fumigatus an A. flavus. Experimental data suggests that A. flavus is more virulent than A. fumigatus. However, these were mostly models of disseminate...