Pneumocystis Jirovecii in General Population

Overview

Journal Emerg Infect Dis

Specialty Infectious Diseases

Date 2005 Mar 9

PMID 15752442

Citations 71

Authors

Francisco J Medrano

Marco Montes-Cano

Manuel Conde

Carmen de la Horra

Nieves Respaldiza

Antonia Gasch

Maria J Perez-Lozano

Jose M Varela

Enrique J Calderon

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The possible presence of Pneumocystis among healthy adults was examined by detecting Pneumocystis jirovecii-specific DNA in prospectively obtained oropharyngeal wash samples from 50 persons without underlying lung disease or immunosuppression. Pneumocystis carriage, defined by detecting Pneumocystis DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction in 2 independent analyses plus successful mitochondrial large subunit ribosomal RNA typing by direct sequencing, was found in 20% of cases. All carriers were asymptomatic, anti-HIV negative, and had normal total lymphocyte and CD4+ cell counts. A second sample obtained in the 6-month follow-up was positive in 2 of 9 available carriers. Genotype analysis showed different polymorphisms; 85A/248C (40%) and 85C/248C (30%) were most frequently observed. This study provides the first evidence that P. jirovecii DNA can be frequently detected in the respiratory tract of immunocompetent adults, which agrees with the hypothesis that the general population could be a reservoir and source of this infection.

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