Phaeohyphomycosis is a diverse group of fungal infections,[6] caused by dematiaceous fungi whose morphologic characteristics in tissue include hyphae, yeast-like cells, or a combination of these.
[7] It can be associated with an array of melanistic filamentous fungi including Alternaria species,[8] Exophiala jeanselmei,[9] and Rhinocladiella mackenziei.
[10] The term "phaeohyphomycosis" was introduced to determine infections caused by dematiaceous (pigmented) filamentous fungi which contain melanin in their cell walls.
[citation needed] Mollusks clinical signs vary from scattered spots of brownish discoloration on the mantle tissues to general deterioration of mussel condition.
In severe cases, there were black-bodied mussels with a distinct odor and black yeast cells infected the connective tissues around the gonads and the digestive tract.
Ulcers or nodules in the skin can be found, as well as swelling and lesions of internal organs, including the spleen, liver, and kidney.
[13] Common lesions include ulcerated cutaneous nodules of the digits, pinnae, nasal planum, and nasal/paranasal tissues.
[14] In extreme cases dogs exhibit vision impairment and have deep infections in the nasal cavity, kidneys, and the cerebellum.
The center provided a series of antimicrobial treatments and a one-month course of 1 mg itraconazole, administered orally once a day.
[19] The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association published a case study in which researchers successfully managed an intracranial phaeohyphomycotic fungal granuloma in a one-year-old male Boxer dog.
Veterinarians of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Tufts University surgically removed the granuloma in the right cerebral hemisphere.
Based on magnetic resonance imaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis 8 months after the surgery, the male Boxer's outcome was considered excellent.
Recent searches of databases show that there are no current projects studying the spread of this fungus in wild animals, though there are documented cases of its occurrence.
Because of this finding, more researchers are aware of this disease and the fact that it does not just infect the brain, as previously thought, but also other organs and other parts of the nervous system.
[20] A Purdue University study in 2011 showed a Huacaya alpaca (Vicugna pacos) with the same fungus affected by cerebral phaeohyphomycosis.
Although it does not seem to be an epidemic, it is nonetheless an area of concern and requires much more active research rather than simply reports of terminal or already-dead animals.