Difference between revisions of "Pneumocystis carinii"

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Latest revision as of 12:15, 23 February 2011

  • Important cause of pneumonia in humans associated with immunodeficiency states
  • It has been occasionally reported in young or immunosuppressed animals (e.g. Arabian foals with congenital immunodeficiency)
  • Grossly:
  • Histologically:
    • Alveoli are filled with pale staining acidophilic material (= trophozoite and cyst forms of the organism)
  • It is thought that as P. carinii is often present as a latent infection, alveolar macrophages normally control the organism - a process which fails in immunodeficient states