Cryptococcosis is well known as a complication of HIV/AIDS, but it can also affect those who are immunosuppressed for other reasons. Dr Marr and colleagues describe a set of 138 patients from the US. Around half (49%) had CNS involvement but only just over a quarter (27.8%) had a fever.
Oropharyngeal histoplasmosis: a manifestation of disseminated disease
Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection endemic to areas of Central America and Midwest USA. Most people develop a mild form of infection and are asymptomatic; if symptoms do occur they are usually flu-like, but can vary greatly. In a few, usually immunosuppressed, patients the disease can progress to life-threatening, disseminated histoplasmosis. Dr Thais Pincelli and colleagues recently reviewed all 10 cases of oropharyngeal histoplasmosis identified over a 21 year period at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.