In Hong Kong, common causative agents of dee-seated mycoses include Candida sp, including C. albicans. Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans and Penicillium marrneffei. Other rarer ones are Histoplasma capsulatum, Coccidioides immitus, and Blastomyces dermatitidis. Clinical lesions produced by these systemic fungi may be difficult to distinguish from tuberculous lesions, neoplasms and various pneumonias. With exeptions of Candida, Cryptococcus. and A. fumigatus, growth of these organisms is very slow and usually requires 2-6 weeks. Frequently, serology offers the only evidence available to guide treatment, as a prognostic indicator, or lead to more definitive techniques such as biopsy. We use the counter immuno-elecrophoresis (CIE) technique to test for `identity' of homologous antibody in serum.
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