Abstract
Pathogenic fungi in lesions of nocardiosis or systemic mycoses survived in an airtight container at -80°C. After storage of from 2 weeks to 2 years, the lesion samples were cut into tiny pieces in an antibiotic solution. These tiny pieces and the solution were inoculated on appropriate agar slants/plates and incubated at 27°C. In 4 cases out of 5, the fungi rapidly and abundantly grew upon the media. Nocardia asteroides from nocardiosis, Candida albicans and C. tropicalis from candidiasis, and Aspergillus terreus from aspergillosis were successfully isolated. Before culturing, direct microscopic examination of the pieces from the fungally infected tissues was recommended to confirm the causative agents.
