Pneumonia caused by Cunninghamella bertholletiae complicating chronic lymphatic leukemia

Abstract

A case of pneumonia caused by Cunninghamella bertholletiae is described in a patient with chronic lymphatic leukemia. The species of Cunninghamella, a genus in the order Mucorales, are characterized by the formation of conidia on the surface of an inflated conidiophore (vesicle). C. bertholletiae, not C. elegans, is the most appropriate name for this fungus. This zygomycete was resistant by in vitro sensitivity testing to amphotericin B. The source of the infection is not known.