Dynamics of Pneumocystis carinii air shedding during experimental pneumocystosis
Firas Choukri1, El Moukhtar Aliouat, Jean Menotti
1Department of Parasitology-Mycology, Paris-Diderot University and Saint Louis Hospital (Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris), Université Lille--Nord de France, France.
Abstract:
To better understand the diffusion of Pneumocystis in the environment, airborne shedding of Pneumocystis carinii in the surrounding air of experimentally infected rats was quantified by means of a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay, in parallel with the kinetics of P. carinii loads in their lungs. P. carinii DNA was detected in the air 1 week after infection and increased until 4-5 weeks after infection before stabilizing. A significant correlation was shown between lung burdens and the corresponding airborne levels, suggesting the possibility of estimating the fungal lung involvement through quantification of Pneumocystis in the exhaled air.
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