First case of rare and deadly fungus in sub-Saharan Africa identified

Posted by Alecia Viljoen

Medical staff at the University of the Free State (UFS) and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) at the Universitas Academic Hospital have identified the first case of S. oblongispora mucormycosis in sub-Saharan Africa and among HIV-positive patients.

Dr Bonita van der Westhuizen, Senior lecturer and Pathologist in the UFS Department of Medical Microbiology, who identified this rare fungus said this discovery is significant because it highlights the presence of this fungal pathogen in a region where it may have been previously unrecognised or underreported. It now raises awareness about the diversity of fungal infections affecting immunocompromised populations and underscores the need for improved diagnostics, surveillance, and treatment strategies in the region.

Dr Van der Westhuizen says though it is unclear where the deceased might have picked up this infection, moulds are ubiquitous in the environment. Patients usually get infected by inhalation of spores or traumatic implantation.

Together with colleagues Drs Liska Budding and Christie Esterhuysen, both from the UFS Department of Anatomical Pathology and the NHLS, and Prof Samantha Potgieter, Infectious disease expert in the UFS Department of Internal Medicine, Dr Van der Westhuizen published the case earlier this month (August) in the Journal Case Reports in Pathology.

Read the press release here.