Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) caused by the opportunistic fungal agent Pneumocystis jirovecii (formerly P. carinii) continues to cause illness and death in HIV-infected patients. In the absence of a culture system to isolate and maintain live organisms, efforts to type and characterize the organism have relied on polymerase chain reaction-based approaches. Studies using these methods have improv...

To the Editor—Pneumocystis jirovecii is a well-described opportunistic pathogen in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, but it is less commonly associated with pneumonia in other states of immunocompromise. However, outbreaks of P. jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) have been described in renal transplant recipients in both Europe and Asia [1–3]. Explanations for this, including the possible mo...

Ibrutinib is not known to confer risk for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP). We observed 5 cases of PCP in 96 patients receiving single-agent ibrutinib, including 4 previously untreated. Clinical presentations included asymptomatic pulmonary infiltrates, chronic cough, and shortness of breath. The diagnosis was often delayed. Median time from starting ibrutinib to occurrence of PCP was 6 m...

Rapporter deux cas cliniques de coinfections pulmonaires par Pneumocystis jirovecii et par Pseudomonas aeruginosa chez des patients vivant avec le VIH. Les deux patients étaient âgés respectivement de 32 ans et 46 ans. Un patient a été pris en charge à l'hôpital Yalgado Ouédraogo de Ouagadougou au Burkina Faso et l'autre a été pris en charge à l'hôpital Ténon de Paris, en France. Les deux souff...

To the Editor: Our 2002 article in Emerging Infectious Diseases about nomenclature changes for organisms in the genus Pneumocystis (1) has been widely cited and probably will remain a source for persons seeking information about this subject. Therefore, we need to correct an error in 1 of the species names presented in our article and in the 1999 article by Frenkel (2) on which our article was ...

Pneumocystis jirovecii (formerly Pneumocystis carinii sp. f. hominis) is an unusual fungus exhibiting pulmonary tropism and a highly defined host specificity. It is generally regarded as an opportunistic microorganism causing severe and often fatal pneumonia in AIDS patients. However, with the currently rising number of patients receiving immunosuppressive therapies for malignancies, allogeneic...

TO THE EDITOR—Pneumocystis jirovecii is responsible for severe inflammatory pneumonia in transplant recipients [1–6]. We encountered a cluster of fulminant P. jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) in 14 transplant recipients occurring a mean of 6.3 years (SD, 5.3 years) after transplant, beyond our 6-month trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) prophylaxis period [4]. Additional clusters emerged in 7 other...

Pneumocystis organisms were first believed to be a single protozoan species able to colonize the lungs of all mammals. Subsequently, genetic analyses revealed their affiliation to the fungal Taphrinomycotina subphylum of the Ascomycota, a clade which encompasses plant pathogens and free-living yeasts. It also appeared that, despite their similar morphological appearance, these fungi constitute ...