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Increasing evidence suggests airborne transmission of Pneumocystis jirovecii. Although the organism fails to grow on fungal culture media, its DNA has been detected in air filters in the hospital rooms of patients with P. jirovecii pneumonia and in the air-collection system of an intubated patient. Because the detection methods used in these earlier studies were not quantitative, the potential exposure and possible risk for susceptible individuals in close proximity to such patients could not be estimated. Now, researchers in France have provided some quantitative data.
Air was collected from the environments of 19 patients with P. jirovecii pneumonia, and the captured airborne microorganisms were concentrated into a small amount of liquid. …