DESCRIPTIONS OF MEDICAL FUNGI

Descriptions of Medical Fungi 99
Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti complex
Antifungal Susceptibility: F. incarnatum-equiseti complex (Australian National
data); MIC µg/mL.
No. 64
AmB 6 1 1 3 1
VORI 6 1 1 3 1
POSA 5 1 3 1
ITRA 4 1 3
Fusarium oxysporum complex
This complex contains at least five phylogenetically distinct species and accounts for
about 20% of human infections caused by fusaria (Guarro 2013, Tortorano et al. 2014,
Salah et al. 2015). All are ubiquitous soil borne pathogens responsible for vascular
wilts, rots, and damping-off diseases of a broad range of plants. A number of these
fusaria are also clinically important, causing localised or deeply invasive life threatening
infections in humans and other animals (O’Donnell et al. 2009a). Mortality in patients
who are persistently and severely neutropenic is typically 100% (Nucci and Anaissie,
2007).
RG-2 organisms.
Morphological Description: Colonies growing rapidly, 4.5 cm in four days, aerial
mycelium white, becoming purple, with discrete orange sporodochia present in some
strains; reverse hyaline to dark blue or dark purple. Conidiophores are short, single,
lateral monophialides in the aerial mycelium, later arranged in densely branched
clusters. Macroconidia are fusiform, slightly curved, pointed at the tip, mostly three
septate, basal cells pedicellate, 23-54 x 3-4.5 µm. Microconidia are abundant, never
in chains, mostly non-septate, ellipsoidal to cylindrical, straight or often curved, 5-12
x 2.3-3.5 µm. Chlamydospores are terminal or intercalary, hyaline, smooth or rough
walled, 5-13 µm. In contrast to F. solani complex, the phialides are short and mostly
non-septate.
Antifungal Susceptibility: F. oxysporum complex (Australian National data); MIC
µg/mL.
No. 64
AmB 52 1 4 6 12 14 9 4 2
VORI 49 5 6 10 19 7 3
POSA 37 1 1 7 6 1 15 6
ITRA 39 3 1 1 34