Cocciodioidomycosis

Coccidioidomycosis is an infection caused by inhaling spores of the soil fungus Coccidioides immitis (hereafter termed Cocci). Cocci is endemic in certain areas of California. When soil containing the fungus is disturbed, as during earth-moving activities, respirable Cocci spores can become airborne and be inhaled by persons in the vicinity. This article describes a cluster of seven Cocciodioidomycosis cases among a highway construction crew that occurred in June/July 2008 in Kern County, CA, which is among the most highly endemic regions for Cocci in California...

This first observation of donor-transmitted coccidioidomycosis in a pediatric liver-transplant recipient underlines a rare condition in transplanted patients in a nonendemic area. This transmission was observed after a liver split, the patient being contaminated by the left liver while the right-liver recipient was not.