Histoplasmosis in the Republic of Congo dominated by African histoplasmosis, Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii.

The Republic of Congo (RoC) is one of the African countries with the most histoplasmosis cases reported. This review summarizes the current status regarding epidemiology, diagnostic tools, and treatment of histoplasmosis in the RoC. A computerized search was performed from online databases Medline,...

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Main Authors: Fructueux Modeste Amona, David W Denning, Donatien Moukassa, Michel Develoux, Christophe Hennequin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-05-01
Series:PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009318&type=printable
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author Fructueux Modeste Amona
David W Denning
Donatien Moukassa
Michel Develoux
Christophe Hennequin
author_facet Fructueux Modeste Amona
David W Denning
Donatien Moukassa
Michel Develoux
Christophe Hennequin
author_sort Fructueux Modeste Amona
collection DOAJ
description The Republic of Congo (RoC) is one of the African countries with the most histoplasmosis cases reported. This review summarizes the current status regarding epidemiology, diagnostic tools, and treatment of histoplasmosis in the RoC. A computerized search was performed from online databases Medline, PubMed, HINARI, and Google Scholar to collect literature on histoplasmosis in the RoC. We found 57 cases of histoplasmosis diagnosed between 1954 and 2019, corresponding to an incidence rate of 1-3 cases each year without significant impact of the AIDS epidemic in the country. Of the 57 cases, 54 (94.7%) were cases of Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii (Hcd) infection, African histoplasmosis. Three cases (5.3%) of Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum infection were recorded, but all were acquired outside in the RoC. The patients' ages ranged between 13 months to 60 years. An equal number of cases were observed in adults in the third or fourth decades (n = 14; 24.6%) and in children aged ≤15 years. Skin lesions (46.3%), lymph nodes (37%), and bone lesions (26%) were the most frequent clinical presentations. Most diagnoses were based on histopathology and distinctive large yeast forms seen in tissue. Amphotericin B (AmB) was first line therapy in 65% of the cases and itraconazole (25%) for maintenance therapy. The occurrence of African histoplasmosis in apparently normal children raises the possibility that African histoplasmosis is linked to environmental fungal exposure.
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spelling doaj-art-67e611a9e2ee448c8f080b588b40d5f12025-08-20T02:54:29ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352021-05-01155e000931810.1371/journal.pntd.0009318Histoplasmosis in the Republic of Congo dominated by African histoplasmosis, Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii.Fructueux Modeste AmonaDavid W DenningDonatien MoukassaMichel DevelouxChristophe HennequinThe Republic of Congo (RoC) is one of the African countries with the most histoplasmosis cases reported. This review summarizes the current status regarding epidemiology, diagnostic tools, and treatment of histoplasmosis in the RoC. A computerized search was performed from online databases Medline, PubMed, HINARI, and Google Scholar to collect literature on histoplasmosis in the RoC. We found 57 cases of histoplasmosis diagnosed between 1954 and 2019, corresponding to an incidence rate of 1-3 cases each year without significant impact of the AIDS epidemic in the country. Of the 57 cases, 54 (94.7%) were cases of Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii (Hcd) infection, African histoplasmosis. Three cases (5.3%) of Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum infection were recorded, but all were acquired outside in the RoC. The patients' ages ranged between 13 months to 60 years. An equal number of cases were observed in adults in the third or fourth decades (n = 14; 24.6%) and in children aged ≤15 years. Skin lesions (46.3%), lymph nodes (37%), and bone lesions (26%) were the most frequent clinical presentations. Most diagnoses were based on histopathology and distinctive large yeast forms seen in tissue. Amphotericin B (AmB) was first line therapy in 65% of the cases and itraconazole (25%) for maintenance therapy. The occurrence of African histoplasmosis in apparently normal children raises the possibility that African histoplasmosis is linked to environmental fungal exposure.https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009318&type=printable
spellingShingle Fructueux Modeste Amona
David W Denning
Donatien Moukassa
Michel Develoux
Christophe Hennequin
Histoplasmosis in the Republic of Congo dominated by African histoplasmosis, Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii.
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
title Histoplasmosis in the Republic of Congo dominated by African histoplasmosis, Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii.
title_full Histoplasmosis in the Republic of Congo dominated by African histoplasmosis, Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii.
title_fullStr Histoplasmosis in the Republic of Congo dominated by African histoplasmosis, Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii.
title_full_unstemmed Histoplasmosis in the Republic of Congo dominated by African histoplasmosis, Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii.
title_short Histoplasmosis in the Republic of Congo dominated by African histoplasmosis, Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii.
title_sort histoplasmosis in the republic of congo dominated by african histoplasmosis histoplasma capsulatum var duboisii
url https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009318&type=printable
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