Disseminated Microascus Cirrosus Infection in Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient

Microascus cirrosus Curzi and its associated anamorphic state, Scopulariopsis, were recovered from the cutaneous lesion of a 12-year-old male who had undergone an autologous bone marrow transplantation for acute myelogenous leukemia. Histopathology sections from the biopsied lesion demonstrated septate hyphae consistent with a fungal etiology. Radiographic studies of the lungs subsequent to progression of the lesion revealed a consolidation in the right upper lobe suggesting a primary focus of infection. While M. cirrosus is fairly abundant in nature and widely distributed in stored grains in North America, this is, to our knowledge, the first reported human infection by this species. Salient characteristics for the identification of this dematiaceous ascomycete, M. cirrosus, will be presented.