Birds or zebras?

Potential contribution of fungal infection and colonization to the development of allergy

Fungi have long been recognized as an important source of allergens in patients with atopic disease. In this review, we explore the hypothesis that fungal exposures resulting in colonization or infection directly influence the tendency of an individual to develop allergic disease. According to this hypothesis, fungal exposures especially those early in life may influence the manner in which the immune response handles subsequent responses to antigen exposures. Studies detailing this potential connection between fungi have already provided important insights into the immunology of fungal-human interactions and offer the potential to provide new approaches and targets for the therapy of allergic disease. The first half of this review summarizes the data concerning fungal infections and asthma, including possible connections between fungal infections and urban asthma. The second half explores the potential role of the fungal gastrointestinal microbiota in promoting allergic inflammation.

Serologic evidence for regional differences in pediatric cryptococcal infection

Cryptococcus neoformans is present in areas contaminated with pigeon droppings. Unrecognized infections are hypothesized to occur commonly among immunocompetent individuals. We used serology to estimate prevalence of cryptococcal infection in immunocompetent children from 3 regions. Our results indicate unrecognized cryptococcal infections are extremely common in Bronx children, but uncommon in children from Dutchess County, NY and the Philippines.