ABSTRACT
Increasingly recognized as an emerging cause of human infection, particularly in immunocompromised persons, Curvularia causes a wide range of human diseases [1]. First reported from a mycetoma by Baylet et al. in 1959 [2], Curvularia spp. have been commonly associated with certain diseases, such as infections of the cornea and sinuses, as well as allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS). Other diseases associated with Curvularia include cutaneous and subcutaneous
lesions (such as phaeohyphomycosis and chromoblastomycosis), ocular infections (such as keratitis and endophthalmitis), peritonitis, onychomycosis, and other less common clinical entities. Dissemination to the brain and to other organs rarely occurs. However, isolation in culture is not always clinically signi–cant, as Curvularia may occasionally contaminate a culture. Infections due to Curvularia can occur in immunocompetent hosts as well. In their review of human Curvularia infection, Rinaldi et al. reported that only two patients were immunosuppressed in their series of 24 patients [3].
