Penicillium marneffei

Penicillium marneffei is a mitosporic pathogenic fungus of the family Trichocomaceae that has emerged since 1990 as a significant human mycosis. Emergence of P. marneffei has occurred in concert with the explosive epidemic of AIDS in South East Asia, where it is classified as an AIDS-related indicator disease. The endemic range of the pathogen is confined to Southeast Asia where autochthonous isolations are known from Northeast India, Thailand, the Guangxi region of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Viet Nam and Indonesia. In these regions, P. marneffei is a naturally-occurring sylvatic infection within a high proportion of bamboo rat species (Rhizomys sinensis, R. pruinosus¸ R. sumatrensis and Cannomys badius).

http://pmarneffei.multilocus.net is designed to assist the P. marneffei research community to investigate the epidemiology, ecology and population biology of this pathogen. Development is funded by the Wellcome Trust.