Enhancement in serum (1-3)-β-D-glucan level by cutaneous alternariosis: A case report and literature review

Contamination with the fungus Alternaria spp. is often considered to have originated from laboratory sources, which occasionally causes infection in immunocompromised patients, termed as phaeohyphomycosis. Here, we have reported a case of cutaneous alternariosis caused by Alternaria alternata. This diagnosis was based on microscopic examination and mycological culturing of patient's vesicular lesions, with the use of 5 molecular markers (namely, ITS, ATPase, Actin, rpb2, and tef1) for strain identification. We noted that Alternaria infection caused an increase in the serum level of (1-3)-beta-D-glucan (BG) in the patients. To the best of our knowledge, no such finding has been reported in previously in the literature.

Automated summary

This case report describes a cutaneous alternariosis caused by Alternaria alternata, with strain identification using 5 molecular markers. It was observed that Alternaria infection resulted in an increase in the serum level of (1-3)-beta-D-glucan (BG) in the patients, which has not been previously reported in the literature.