Humans Are Selectively Exposed to Pneumocystis jirovecii
Ousmane H. Cissé, Liang Ma, Chao Jiang, M Snyder, Joseph A. Kovacs
Abstract
Environmental exposure has a significant impact on human health. While some airborne fungi can cause life-threatening infections, the impact of environment on fungal spore dispersal and transmission is poorly understood. The democratization of shotgun metagenomics allows us to explore important questions about fungal propagation. We focus on Pneumocystis , a genus of host-specific fungi that infect mammals via airborne particles. In humans, Pneumocystis jirovecii causes lethal infections in immunocompromised patients if untreated, although its environmental reservoir and transmission route remain unclear.
Topics & Concepts
Pneumocystis jiroveciiBiologyMetagenomicsBiological dispersalMucormycosisTransmission (telecommunications)VirologyHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV)MedicineEnvironmental healthGeneGeneticsEngineeringPopulationPathologyElectrical engineeringPneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia detection and treatmentFungal Infections and StudiesAntifungal resistance and susceptibility