What to know
- Presentation Day/Time: Tuesday, April 22, 10:55 am–12:20 pm
- Presenter: Kyle Yomogida, PhD, EIS officer assigned to the Washington State Department of Health
What did we do?
- In April 2024, Clallam County Public Health notified the Washington State Department of Health of six patients with fungal cultures that grew Purpureocillium lilacinum from dermatology Clinic A. We investigated to describe patient characteristics and identify exposures.
What did we find?
- By October 26, 2024, we identified 22 persons with P. lilacinum skin swab cultures. All were patients at Clinic A.
- The median patient age was 73 years. Nine (41%) patients had one or more preexisting health condition; most common was high blood pressure.
- Fourteen (64%) patients had a rash before diagnosis.
- Eight (36%) patients reported regularly gardening or working in their yard. No common social or recreational settings were identified.
- Commercial laboratory data noted an increase in fungal cultures with P. lilacinum during 2024 (30), compared with 7 in 2023 in Washington.
- Among P. lilacinum cultures at the commercial laboratory in 2024, 28 (93%) were from Clinic A patients.
Why does it matter?
- This is potentially the largest cluster of P. lilacinum infections in the United States. Although multiple infection sources have been ruled out, further investigation using skin biopsies are needed to confirm clinical infection and rule out contamination. This investigation highlights challenges when investigating fungal pathogens.
***This presentation has updated data that will be shared at the EIS Conference.
Abstract Category: Fungal Diseases