Geographic distribution: southeast Asia (Hong Kong, south China, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam)
Risk factors:
(1) AIDS or other immunosuppression
(2) exposure to soil (occupational, other)
Clinical findings in disseminated disease (penicilliosis):
(1) fever, often low grade
(2) weight loss
(3) malaise
(4) skin lesions (papules, pustules, nodules, abscesses, ulcerations)
(5) generalized lymphadenopathy
(6) mucosal lesions
(7) hepatomegaly with or without splenomegaly
(8) cough and hemoptysis with pulmonary lesions on chest X-rays
(9) osteoarthritis
Laboratory findings:
(1) anemia or pancytopenia
(2) presence of yeast forms in tissue biopsy
(3) positive fungal culture for Penicillium marneffei from skin lesions, blood or tissue biopsy
