Affiliation:
1. Department of Parasitology, Mycology, and Travel Medicine
2. Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Centre, Jules Verne University of Picardy, 80054 Amiens
3. Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Saint Antoine University Hospital, 75012 Paris, France
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The frequency of
Pneumocystis jiroveci
(human-derived
Pneumocystis
) in immunocompetent infants developing acute respiratory syndromes has recently been evaluated and has been shown to be close to 25%. Until now, there have been no data on the genomic characteristics of the fungus in these patients, while molecular typing of
P. jiroveci
organisms was mostly performed with samples from immunosuppressed patients with pneumocystosis (
Pneumocystis
carinii
pneumonia [PCP]). The present report describes the genotypes of
P. jiroveci
organisms in 26 nonimmunosuppressed infants developing a mild
Pneumocystis
infection contemporaneously with an episode of bronchioloalveolitis. The typing was based on sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) 1 and 2 of the rRNA operon, followed by the use of two typing scores. By use of the first score, 11
P. jiroveci
ITS types were identified: 10 were previously reported in immunosuppressed patients with PCP, while 1 was newly described. By use of the second score, 13 types were identified, of which 2 were newly described. The most frequent type was identified as type B
1
a
3
(first score), which corresponds to type Eg (second score). Mixed infections were diagnosed in three infants. The occurrence of such diversity of
P. jiroveci
ITS types, an identical main type, and mixed infections has previously been reported in immunosuppressed patients with PCP. Thus, the
P. jiroveci
ITS genotypes detected in immunocompetent infants and immunosuppressed patients developing different forms of
Pneumocystis
infection share characteristics, suggesting that both groups of individuals make up a common human reservoir for the fungus. Finally, the frequency of
P. jiroveci
in nonimmunosuppressed infants with acute respiratory syndromes and the genotyping results provide evidence that this infant population is an important reservoir for the fungus.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
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