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Toxoplasmosis is one of the most prevalent parasitosis in the world. It is associated with perinatal morbidity and in immunocompromised population. Currently, there are several diagnostic tests, both serological and molecular, that can help confirm the diagnosis and differentiate a recent infection of a pass. We propose some recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of toxoplasmosis in different clinical scenarios based on the currently available evidence.

Trichophyton tonsurans is a cosmopolitan dermatophyte, highly prevalent in Africa, South America, and endemic in North America, where it is mostly related to cases of tinea capitis. Recently, it was also reported in Chile for the first time in two outbreaks occurred in Santiago. In the present study, we sequenced the variable internal repeat (VIR) region of a Chilean isolate and compared its genotype with those of several global T. tonsurans isolates. The results showed that the Chilean isolate presented a new genotype which was strictly correlated with isolates from Europe, USA and Mexico., Lay Summary: Trichophyton tonsurans is a fungus able to cause superficial mycosis infecting skin and hair. It is an emerging pathogen worldwide and some cases were recently reported also in Chile for the first time. We investigated by molecular techniques which geographical area could be the source of infections., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The immunity conferred after a first SARS-CoV-2 infection and the consequent risk of persistent infection or reinfection are not fully elucidated. There are reports both in Europe and in North America of reinfection cases, recently highlighting the first case published in South America. On the other hand, reports of co-infections have been increasing, including those associated with Legionella pneumophila . We present the case of a 47-year-old male, health personnel who, after four months of a first SARS-CoV-2 infection, suffers a severe pneumonia certifying a new SARS-CoV-2 infection and a L. pneumophila co-infection by urinary antigen detection. He was treated in the ICU, requiring mechanical ventilation, dexamethasone, and moxifloxacin, with a good response. He is currently in respiratory and motor rehabilitation.

Background: The current pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2 has caused a high burden on health. Cases and series of invasive aspergillosis associated with COVID-19 patients (CAPA) on mechanical ventilation have been described., Aim: To describe the increase in the positivity of the galactomannan (GM) biomarker during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Fifth Region: Valparaíso., Method: Retrospective descriptive study. The GM results in both broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) and serum and the BAL cultures that were sent to the Mycology Laboratory of the University of Valparaíso from January to September 2020 were reviewed; then they were compared with the examinations of the same period of 2019., Results: There was a significant increase in GMs carried out in LBA during the pandemic, concentrating mainly between the months of July-September., Conclusions: There was a significant increase in GM carried out in LBA during the pandemic, concentrating mainly between the months of July-September.

Infections due to Gram-negative bacteria of the genus Myroides are very rare and generally affect the skin and soft tissues of patients with some degree of immunocompromise. We present a case of a 23-year-old patient with a history of myelomeningocele surgically resolved at 3 years of age and bot foot, who presented with a deep infection of the right lower extremity by Myroides odoratimimus. The species identification was carried out with MALDI-TOF and the treatment was initially carried out with meropenem and finally then ciprofloxacin, in addition to right supramaleolar amputation.

Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex is the most frequent agent found in dermatophyte isolates after Trichophyton rubrum. It is divided into 3main groups: (1) Trichophyton benhamiae and related species; (2) Trichophyton simii and 2related species, Trichophyton quinckeanum and Trichophyton schoenleinii; and (3) T. mentagrophytes, T. interdigitale, and related species. They are all difficult to identify by morphophysiology. With the aim of classifying them at the species level, a descriptive study was performed on 17 isolated clinical strains identified in the Mycology Laboratory of the Universidad de Valparaíso as belonging to the T. mentagrophytes complex. They were compared with 3 reference strains (T. mentagrophytes CBS 318.56, T. interdigitale CBS 428.63, Trichophyton erinacei CBS 511.73). Morphophysiological and molecular tests were performed by high resolution melting analysis curves and ITS regions sequencing. Phenotypically, 3 species of the complex were identified. Molecular analyses reclassified all the species as belonging to T. interdigitale. In conclusion, no reliable morphophysiological patterns were established to differentiate between the species of the complex. Molecularly, all the strains studied were classified as T. interdigitale., (Copyright © 2019 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Indoor environments provide important protective habitats for humans, who live or work in them most of the time. Many of these environments lack ventilation, which affects the composition of microbial communities, especially that of the fungal community. The aim of this study is to report the isolation of Aspergillus section Candidi from indoor environments of the School of Medicine at Universidad de Valparaiso, Chile, and identification through morpho-physiological and molecular approaches. Their ecological and clinical features were highlighted. An environmental non-volumetric sampling was performed on PDA medium; 2 petri dishes were exposed in 10 different places to select the Aspergillus samples. Subcultures were performed on agar Czapek with yeast extract (CYA), malt extract agar (MEA) and creatin sacarose agar (CREA) media only for the morpho-physiological and later the molecular identification of white spore species. Of the 20 samples analyzed, one Aspergillus belonging to Candidi section was isolated. Based on its morphology and molecular features, it was classified as Aspergillustritici Mehrotra & Basu. Its ecology and medical relevance are reviewed and discussed., (Copyright © 2017 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The sporothricosis disease is an infection caused by species included in Sporothrix schenkii complex., Objective: Verify the virulence of a strain of S. globosa using two different concentrations of inoculum by intraperitoneally and subcutaneously, into a mouse model., Materials and Methods: Nonrandomized pilot study, in murine inoculated with a strain of S. globosa (CBS 14.076M) by intraperitoneally and subcutaneously with inoculum concentrations of 0.5 and 4 McFarland. For this purpose 18 rodents CF-1 (ISP, Santiago, Chile) were used., Results: The studied strain did not induce illness or injury on animals, they all survived and neither the tissue culture nor the histopathological analysis showed fungal growth or suggestive infection by organ abnormalities., Conclusions: The S. globosa strain did not present any virulence enough to cause disease at 0.5 and 4.0 McFarland concentration inoculum when inoculated in both intraperitoneally and subcutaneously, in murine models., (Copyright © 2016 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

A combination of phylogeny, evolution, morphologies and ecologies has enabled major advances in understanding the taxonomy of Sporothrix species, including members exhibiting distinct lifestyles such as saprobes, human/animal pathogens, and insect symbionts. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS1/2 + 5.8s sequences split Sporothrix genus in two well-defined groups with dissimilar ecologies. Species embedded in the Sporothrix schenckii complex are frequently agents of human and animal sporotrichosis, and some of these are responsible for large sapronoses and zoonoses around the warmer temperate regions of the world. At the other extreme, basal saprophytic species evolved in association with decaying wood and soil, and are rarely found to cause human disease. We propose to create a new taxa, Sporothrix chilensis sp. nov., to accommodate strains collected from a clinical case of onychomycosis as well as from environmental origins in Chile. Multigene analyses based on ITS1/2 + 5.8s region, beta-tubulin, calmodulin and translation elongation factor 1α revealed that S. chilensis is a member of the Sporothrix pallida complex, and the nearest taxon is Sporothrix mexicana, a rare soil-borne species, non-pathogenic to humans. The ITS region serves as a primary barcode marker, while each one of the protein-coding loci easily recognized species boundaries providing sufficient information for species identification. A disseminated model of murine sporotrichosis revealed a mild-pathogenic potential, with lung invasion. Although S. chilensis is not a primary pathogen, accidental infection may have an impact in the immunosuppressed population. With the introduction of distinct species with similar routes of transmission but different virulence, identification of Sporothrix agents at the species level is mandatory., (Copyright © 2015 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)