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Mucormycosis in the Eastern Mediterranean: a seasonal disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 August 2005

M. R. AL-AJAM ,
A. R. BIZRI ,
J. MOKHBAT ,
J. WEEDON  and
L. LUTWICK
M. R. AL-AJAM
Affiliation:
Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine, State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn, NY, USA
A. R. BIZRI
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut, Division of Infectious Diseases, Beirut, Lebanon
J. MOKHBAT
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut, Division of Infectious Diseases, Beirut, Lebanon Clinique Rizk, Beirut, Lebanon St George's Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon
J. WEEDON
Affiliation:
Biomedical Statistics, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, USA
L. LUTWICK
Affiliation:
VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, Brooklyn Campus, Division of ID, Department of Internal Medicine, State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn, NY, USA
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Abstract

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Mucormycosis is a fairly rare fungal infection caused by ubiquitous fungi of the order Mucorales and primarily affects immunocompromised hosts. A series of 16 cases of invasive mucormycosis admitted to three referral centres in Beirut, Lebanon between 1981 and 1999 is described. It includes 12 patients with rhinocerebral, three with cutaneous, and one with pulmonary infection. Onset of symptoms occurred in the summer and autumn in 15 out of 16 patients, showing a statistically significant seasonal variation (P=0·007) A recent report of 19 patients from Tel Aviv describes a strikingly similar seasonal pattern. Studies on atmospheric concentration of Mucorales spores in the Eastern Mediterranean are lacking. Weather pattern analysis in Beirut revealed clustering of onset of invasive mucormycosis at the end of a dry, warm period, which begins around May and ends in October. Mucormycosis incidence appears to be seasonal in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Type
Short Report
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 134 , Issue 2 , April 2006 , pp. 341 - 346
Copyright
2005 Cambridge University Press