Methods of laboratory diagnosis of histoplasmosis – problems and prospects

Tereshko D.L., Parfenova M.D.

Federal Government Health Institution «Volgograd Plague Control Researsh Institute» of Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Volgograd

Endemic infections, such as histoplasmosis, the causative agent of which is assigned to pathogenicity group II, can cause a number of difficulties in laboratory studies. The culture method is the gold standard of diagnosis, but requires a lot of time and skill of the doctor. Immunological methods used to detect H. capsulatum antigens and/or antibodies to them, although they have received a wide range of applications in endemic regions show variable sensitivity and specificity, which is influenced by: the nature of the course of infection, the immune status of the patient, the type of clinical material and etc. As a result, we are seeing a gradual shift in emphasis towards molecular genetic studies, which demonstrate high analytical performance in the laboratory diagnosis of histoplasmosis.