Gastrointestinal zygomycotic infection caused by Basidiobolus ranarum: Case report and review

Basidiobolus species are filamentous fungi belonging to the order Entomopht horales, Unlike other zygomycetes, Basidiobolus species have been mainly as sociated with a tropical form of subcutaneous zygomycosis in otherwise heal thy individuals. Visceral disease caused by this pathogen is rare, but case s of gastrointestinal infection with Basidiobolus ranarum have been reporte d worldwide. In many of these reports, the inflammatory disease of the colo n has been confused with Crohn's disease. We report the third case of B. ra narum gastrointestinal infection in the United States, which was initially treated as inflammatory bowel disease.