ABSTRACT
Paracoccidioidomycosis, Brazilian blastomycosis or South American blastomycosis is a deep and systemic mycosis caused by the fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. In 1908, Adolpho Lutz from São Paulo, described for the first time the disease in two patients. In 1912, Alfonso Splendore from São Paulo published four new cases describing the histopathological and mycological findings. In 1930, Floriano Paulo de Almeida from São Paulo established a new genus in the kingdom of fungi, the Paracoccidioides. Before sulfonamides were introduced in 1940 for the treatment of paracoccidioidomycosis, by Domingos Oliveira Ribeiro from São Paulo, this disease—Lutz-Splendore-Almeida— was invariably fatal. This therapy results in improvement or cure in more than 60% of the cases.
