The Rate of Pulmonary Mycotic Infections with Coccidioidomycosis in An Najaf Province

This study was aimed to evaluate the rate of infections with Coccidioidomycosis in An Najaf province and to demonstrate the importance of molecular diagnoses methods. Ninety three respiratory specimens were obtained from patients with Coccidioidomycosis seen at Al-Sader Teaching Hospital and AL-Hakim general hospital in Al-Najaf, Iraq between January 2014 and June 2014. clinical isolates were examined for Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii and inoculated onto sabouraud dextrose agar plates. Nested PCR was used to confirm the diagnosis by screening for the presence of proline-rich antigen (PRA) which is a protein located in the spherule cell wall of C. immitis and C. posadasii. Twenty one clinical isolates determined to be Coccidioides spp. by microscopic examination from a total of 93 respiratory specimens, which were coexamined by general fungal culture. Nested PCR results showed a product of 526 bp was obtained from 23 of the 93 strains tested after the first PCR, whereas an expected 342 bp nested PCR product was detected by agarose electrophoresis from 25 strains tested.