Paracoccidioidomycosis

**Definition:** A disease caused by an infection with the fungi Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. This disease commonly presents with fever, toxaemia, weight loss, adenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, anaemia, or eosinophilia. This disease may present with symptoms similar to tuberculosis, leukaemia, or lymphoma. Transmission is by inhalation of fungal spores. Confirmation is by identification of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in a blood, sputum, or skin sample.

**Long definition:** Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic fungal infection due to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. PCM is endemic in most Latin American countries, where it is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Initial infection by inhalation causes a transient and often asymptomatic pulmonary infection: a minority of patients progress to an acute illness with prominent involvement of lymph nodes and skin. More frequently, latent infection may be reactivated after years of dormancy as chronic PCM, in which pulmonary involvement predominates. Infected organs heal by fibrosis; a substantial number of patients develop fibrotic sequelae that can severely impair respiratory function.