Soil-Related Bacterial and Fungal Infections

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Figure 1.
Pictorial representation of factors determining distribution of bacterial and fungal microorganisms in soil. Side panels represent climatic, physical, and geobiochemical factors. Central panel: upper magnified circle represents soil particles, pore spaces, and bacteria in biofilm; lower magnified circle represents the rhizosphere and associated bacteria and fungi (and amoebae and nematodes).^1,3,4
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Figure 2.
Proposed life cycle of Bacillus cereus. B. cereus spores germinate within an animal host and enter soil through droppings or carcasses or they germinate on contact with organic material. Saprophytic growth occurs in soil. Cells/spores contaminate plant material and food processing areas (where spores persist, especially in biofilms) then cause disease after human consumption.^25–27
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Figure 3.
Blastomyces dermatitidis: Example of endemic dimorphic fungal pathogen causing primarily pulmonary infection. A: Infectious mycelial (mold) forms of B. dermatitidis grown on Sabouraud dextrose agar at 20°C (magnification ×400). B: Yeast forms of B. dermatitidis grown on brain-heart infusion agar at 37° (magnification ×400). C: Chest radiograph illustrating 2 of several nonspecific radiographic patterns of pulmonary blastomycosis. A dense opacity in the right mid-lung fields and patchy infiltrates in the left lung are seen in this adult woman.