Molecular Detection of Histoplasma capsulatum in Antarctica

• Published in: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Authors: Lucas Machado Moreira, Wieland Meyer, Márcia Chame, Martha Lima Brandão, Adriana Marcos Vivoni, Juana Portugal, Bodo Wanke, Luciana Trilles
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2022
• Subjects: Histoplasma; Antarctic regions; fungi; histoplasmosis; Antarctica; Medicine; R; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2810.220046; https://doaj.org/article/d5d2ad8f688b4e9d9956a66b83d73a16

We detected Histoplasma capsulatum in soil and penguin excreta in the Antarctic Peninsula by sequencing after performing species-specific PCR, confirming previous observations that this pathogen occurs more broadly than suspected. This finding highlights the need for surveillance of emerging agents of systemic mycoses and their transmission among regions, animals, and humans in Antarctica.