We report a case of
disseminated aspergillosis in a hitherto healthy 24-year-old woman
during her 24th week of pregnancy. Relevant findings at autopsy revealed
innumerable septate, dichotomously branched (45°) hyphae compatible with
Aspergillus
in lung and liver tissues. Cerebral histology showed cerebral vessels
occluded by hyphae causing cerebral infarction. There was no evidence of
invasive aspergillosis in the placenta and fetal tissues.
Aspergillus
sp. was confirmed by amplification of a specific 357-base-pair amplicon
from a paraffin block containing lung tissue. This case illustrates a
previously uncharacterized spectrum of disseminated aspergillosis,
indicating the need for a heightened awareness that
Aspergillus
species are opportunistic agents for invasive and disseminated infection
in pregnancy.
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