Zygomycetes
Microbiology
Order: Mucorales (see Mucormycosis, [[Mucormycosis]])
- General Comments
- Usually cause opportunistic human infection in immunocompromised hosts (rarely cause disease in immunocompetent hosts)
- Absidia
- Apophysomyces
- Cunninghamella
- Cokeromyces
- Mortierella
- Mucor
- Rhizomucor
- Rhizopus
- Saksenaea
- Syncephalastrum
Order: Entomophthorales
- General Comments
- Usually cause human infection in immunocompetent hosts (unusually cause disease in immunocompromised hosts)
- Human infections occur predominantly in tropical regions
- Transmission occurs by implantation of spores via minor trauma (insect bites, etc) or by inhalation of spores into the sinuses
- Usually do not invade blood vessels and rarely disseminate
- Basidiobolus: infection occurs as a subcutaneous mycosis of the trunk and extremities
- Conidiobolus: infects mucocutaneous sites to produce sinusitis disease
References
- Zygomycetes in Human Disease. Clin Microbiol Rev. Apr 2000; 13(2): 236–301 [MEDLINE]
