ISOLATION OF COCCIDIOIDES BRASILIENSIS FROM ARMADILLOS (DASYPUS-NOVEMINCTUS) CAPTURED IN AN ENDEMIC AREA OF PARACOCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, the causative agent of paracoccidioidom ycosis (PCM), was first isolated from armadillos from the Amazonian re gion where the mycosis is uncommon. In the present study, we report on the high incidence of PCM infection in armadillos from a hyperendemic region of the disease. Four nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinc tus) were captured in the endemic area of Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil, killed by manual cervical dislocation and autopsied under sterile con ditions. Fragments of lung, spleen, liver, and mesenteric lymph nodes were processed for histology, cultured on Mycosel agar at 37 degrees C , and homogenized for inoculation into the testis and peritoneum of ha msters. The animals were killed from week 6 to week 20 postinoculation and fragments of liver, lung, spleen, testis, and lymph nodes were cu ltured on brain heart infusion agar at 37 degrees C. Paracoccidioides brasiliensis was isolated from three armadillos both by direct organ c ulture and from the liver, spleen, lung, and mesenteric lymph nodes of hamsters. In addition, one positive armadillo presented histologicall y proven PCM disease in a mesenteric lymph node. The three armadillos isolates (Pb-AL, Pb-A2, and Pb-A4) presented thermodependent dimorphis m, urease activity, and casein assimilation, showed amplification of t he gp43 gene, and were highly virulent in intratesticularly inoculated hamsters. The isolates expressed the gp43 glycoprotein, the immunodom inant antigen of the fungus, and reacted with a pool of sera from PCM patients. Taken together, the present data confirm that armadillos an a natural reservoir of P. brasiliensis and demonstrate that the animal is a sylvan host to the fungus.