Abstract
The means by which humans acquire Pneumocystis carinii is not well understood. Whether it can be acquired from specific environmental sources or transmitted from person to person has not been determined. This study was designed to detect nucleic acids of P. carinii in air samples from various locations, including P. carinii-infected patients' homes and hospital rooms, non-P. carinii-infected patients' hospital rooms, empty hospital rooms, offices at Indiana University, and other homes in different locations. DNA was extracted from cellulose-ester filters through which air samples had been filtered, and the P. carinii DNA was amplified by PCR with primers specific for the internal transcribed spacer regions of rRNA. P. carinii DNA was found in 17 of 30 air samples (57%) from the rooms of P. carinii-infected patients. It was also found in 6 of the 21 other hospital rooms sampled (29%) but was not found in any of the offices, storage areas, or control homes. Environmental sampling suggests that the airborne presence of P. carinii genetic material and infectious organisms is plausible. The organism was also detected in locations where P. carinii patients were not immediately proximate, such as the hospital rooms of non-P. carinii-infected patients.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (115.2 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bartlett M. S., Lee C. H., Lu J. J., Bauer N. L., Bettz J. F., McLaughlin G. L., Smith J. W. Pneumocystis carinii detected in air. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1994 Sep-Oct;41(5):75S–75S. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chave J. P., David S., Wauters J. P., Van Melle G., Francioli P. Transmission of Pneumocystis carinii from AIDS patients to other immunosuppressed patients: a cluster of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in renal transplant recipients. AIDS. 1991 Aug;5(8):927–932. doi: 10.1097/00002030-199108000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gordin F. M., Simon G. L., Wofsy C. B., Mills J. Adverse reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Ann Intern Med. 1984 Apr;100(4):495–499. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-100-4-495. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hardy A. M., Wajszczuk C. P., Suffredini A. F., Hakala T. R., Ho M. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in renal-transplant recipients treated with cyclosporine and steroids. J Infect Dis. 1984 Feb;149(2):143–147. doi: 10.1093/infdis/149.2.143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Haron E., Bodey G. P., Luna M. A., Dekmezian R., Elting L. Has the incidence of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in cancer patients increased with the AIDS epidemic? Lancet. 1988 Oct 15;2(8616):904–905. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)92498-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hughes W. T., Kuhn S., Chaudhary S., Feldman S., Verzosa M., Aur R. J., Pratt C., George S. L. Successful chemoprophylaxis for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis. N Engl J Med. 1977 Dec 29;297(26):1419–1426. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197712292972602. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Keely S. P., Stringer J. R., Baughman R. P., Linke M. J., Walzer P. D., Smulian A. G. Genetic variation among Pneumocystis carinii hominis isolates in recurrent pneumocystosis. J Infect Dis. 1995 Aug;172(2):595–598. doi: 10.1093/infdis/172.2.595. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lu J. J., Bartlett M. S., Shaw M. M., Queener S. F., Smith J. W., Ortiz-Rivera M., Leibowitz M. J., Lee C. H. Typing of Pneumocystis carinii strains that infect humans based on nucleotide sequence variations of internal transcribed spacers of rRNA genes. J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Dec;32(12):2904–2912. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.12.2904-2912.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lu J. J., Bartlett M. S., Smith J. W., Lee C. H. Typing of Pneumocystis carinii strains with type-specific oligonucleotide probes derived from nucleotide sequences of internal transcribed spacers of rRNA genes. J Clin Microbiol. 1995 Nov;33(11):2973–2977. doi: 10.1128/jcm.33.11.2973-2977.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lundgren J. D., Orholm M., Nielsen T. L., Iversen J., Hertz J., Nielsen J. O. Bronchoscopy of symptom free patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus for detection of pneumocystosis. Thorax. 1989 Jan;44(1):68–69. doi: 10.1136/thx.44.1.68. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Masur H. Prevention and treatment of pneumocystis pneumonia. N Engl J Med. 1992 Dec 24;327(26):1853–1860. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199212243272606. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Meuwissen J. H., Tauber I., Leeuwenberg A. D., Beckers P. J., Sieben M. Parasitologic and serologic observations of infection with Pneumocystis in humans. J Infect Dis. 1977 Jul;136(1):43–49. doi: 10.1093/infdis/136.1.43. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ognibene F. P., Masur H., Rogers P., Travis W. D., Suffredini A. F., Feuerstein I., Gill V. J., Baird B. F., Carrasquillo J. A., Parrillo J. E. Nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis without evidence of Pneumocystis carinii in asymptomatic patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Ann Intern Med. 1988 Dec 1;109(11):874–879. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-109-11-874. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Phair J., Muñoz A., Detels R., Kaslow R., Rinaldo C., Saah A. The risk of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia among men infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study Group. N Engl J Med. 1990 Jan 18;322(3):161–165. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199001183220304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ruebush T. K., 2nd, Weinstein R. A., Baehner R. L., Wolff D., Bartlett M., Gonzles-Crussi F., Sulzer A. J., Schultz M. G. An outbreak of pneumocystis pneumonia in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Am J Dis Child. 1978 Feb;132(2):143–148. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1978.02120270041009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Saah A. J., Hoover D. R., Peng Y., Phair J. P., Visscher B., Kingsley L. A., Schrager L. K. Predictors for failure of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia prophylaxis. Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. JAMA. 1995 Apr 19;273(15):1197–1202. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sepkowitz K. A., Brown A. E., Telzak E. E., Gottlieb S., Armstrong D. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia among patients without AIDS at a cancer hospital. JAMA. 1992 Feb 12;267(6):832–837. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]