Deadly New Algae Species Discovered

Infections can cause lesions and potentially fatal complications, expert says.

专家称，感染会引起xxxx组织的损伤和其它潜在致命的并发症

 

 

The potentially lethal microalgae Prototheca cutis, seen under a microscope.

显微镜下图片

Image courtesy Koichi Makimura

Christine Dell'Amore

National Geographic News

Published May 24, 2010

A newly discovered species of algae can cause potentially deadly infections in people, a new study says.

一项新的研究表明，一种{zx1}发现的藻类可能潜在的能够让人类受到致命的感染。

The new algae, Prototheca cutis, was discovered after scientists analyzed skin samples from a Japanese hospital patient, who had developed an ulcer as a result of the algae infection.

这个新的水藻，【Prototheca（原壁菌属：一属普遍存在的酵母样生物，常被认为是无色素藻类，细胞呈球形、卵圆形或椭圆形，有数个厚壁的似亲孢子。魏氏原壁菌(P.wickerhamii)和左氏原壁菌(P.zopfii)同人类或动物感染有关。）cutis（xx）】，是在科学家分析了一个日本医院的病人的皮肤样本后发现的，该病人由于这种藻类感染导致了皮肤腐烂。

 

The researchers suspect P. cutis is found in soil and water everywhere on Earth, except Antarctica. Because the tiny organism is hardy enough to survive antiseptic treatments, such as chlorination, it thrives in sewage water and household waste—especially in rural areas.

研究者猜测P.cutis 存在于除了南极洲之外的土壤和水源中。由于这种小的有机体很难在防腐处理中存活（比如氯化），它就会在污水和家庭污物中“健壮的成长”——尤其是在乡村。

The Japanese patient, who was successfully treated, is the only known P. cutis victim.

这名日本病人已被成功的只好，他也是{wy}的我们所知的P.cuits的受害者。

But study leader Koichi Makimura, a medical mycologist at Tokyo's Teiko University, suspects that the newfound species acts much like related types of harmful microalgae—single-celled organisms found in waters worldwide.

但是……怀疑这种新发现的物种更像是相关联的几中具有伤害性的微藻类——在世界各处水源中都可发现的单细胞有机体。

If so, P. cutis can enter an open wound—for example, through exposure to contaminated water—and create inflammations or ulcers in a person's arm, leg, or face. The lesions progress slowly, sometimes taking two weeks or more to develop, Makimura said by email.

假如P.cuits进入伤口——比如，通过暴露于污染水源中——然后会导致人的手臂、大腿、脸部产生炎症或溃疡。这个对xxxx和组织的损伤很慢，有时需要两个星期或更长时间。

Similar microalgae infections have also been reported in cattle, deer, dogs, and cats, he added.

相似的微藻类感染已经被报道在牛、鹿、狗和猫上发现。

Rare Infection Lacks Effective Treatment

罕见的感染缺乏有效xx手段。

In severe cases, microalgae infections can progress into potentially fatal septicemia—microbes in the blood—or meningitis, an inflammation of the tissue around the brain and spinal cord.

在严重的时候，微藻类感染可能会导致潜在的致命败血症——微生物在血液中——或者脑膜炎，一种大脑和脊髓的炎症。

Such reactions usually occur in weakened hospitalized patients, according to the study. (Explore the human body.)

Because microalgae infections are rare, treatment options are scarce, Makimura said. (Related: "Drug-Resistant Staph Infection Spreads to Gyms, Day Care.")

For now, antifungal medications are the only available drugs. Even though the algae is not a fungus, antifungals have been shown to cure 59 percent of patients with the most severe microalgae infections, he said.

Patients that can't be cured die from the most extreme infections, he said.

Still, most of the world's microalgae are "usually harmless," Makimura added, making the new species, P. cutis, an "important and interesting subject" of study.

Findings appear in the May issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.