Pneumocystis jirovecii

Pneumocystis jirovecii Latest News

According to the findings of a study by researchers, Pneumocystis jirovecii fungi that can cause severe pneumonia in people with weaker or weakened immune systems appears to have become resistant to a drug that never intended to kill it. 

About Pneumocystis jirovecii

• It is an opportunistic fungal pathogen.
• It can cause pneumonia in patients with impaired immune systems, such as those with AIDS or who are receiving immunosuppressive drugs. 
• It is a ubiquitous organism transmitted by aerosol route and causes no disease in immunocompetent patients.
• Initially classified as a protozoa, it has been considered a fungus since the 1990s based on molecular analyses.
• Its life cycle primarily consists of trophic (eg, trophozoites) and cystic forms.

What is Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP)?

• It is a lung infection that mainly affects people with weakened immune systems. The fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii causes it. 
• Signs and symptoms of Pneumocystis pneumonia: Fever, Chills, Cough, Shortness of breath (dyspnea), Fatigue etc.
• Transmission: P. jirovecii is transmitted from one person to another through the air when someone coughs, sneezes or talks.
• Treatment: It is treated with high doses of the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX). 

Source: TH

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