Invasive Wickerhamomyces anomalus Infections among Injecting Drug Users, France, 2012–20241
Abstract
Wickerhamomyces anomalus is a yeast rarely involved in human invasive fungal diseases (IFD). We retrospectively analyzed 44 episodes of W. anomalus IFD in France during 2012-2024. Injecting drug use (IDU) was the main risk factor among 26/35 (74.3%) incident cases. Most infections were community acquired; overall 3-month mortality rate was 1/30 (3.3%). Short tandem repeat (STR) genotyping and whole-genome sequencing analyses revealed substantial genetic diversity among isolates. However, 1 STR genotype was shared by 2 IDU patients, suggesting common exposure. In addition, 1 isolate obtained from a cotton filter used for drug preparation was identical by STR genotyping to the bloodstream isolate from the same patient, indicating direct inoculation via contaminated material or poor injection practices. Our findings highlight the increased risk for W. anomalus IFD among IDU patients and emphasize the importance of targeted preventive measures within that population.
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BibTeX
@article{lefranc2026invasive,
title = {{Invasive Wickerhamomyces anomalus Infections among Injecting Drug Users, France, 2012–20241}},
author = {Maxime Lefranc and Adrien Pain and Frédéric Dalle and Pierre Baudino and Claudio Plaisant and Taieb Chouaki and Joséphine Dorin and Anne-Pauline Bellanger and Julie Bonhomme and Maxime Moniot and Célia Rouges and Françoise Botterel and Grégoire Pasquier and Lilia Hasseine and Estelle Perraud-Cateau and Jean-Pierre Gangneux and Laurence Delhaes and Damien Costa and Juliette Guitard and Alexandre Alanio and Valérie Letscher-Bru and Emilie Guemas and Guillaume Desoubeaux and Karine Boukris-Sitbon and Olivier Lortholary and Fanny Lanternier and Marie Desnos-Ollivier and Sébastien Imbert},
journal = {Emerging Infectious Diseases},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3201/eid3209.251817},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05854946v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Invasive Wickerhamomyces anomalus Infections among Injecting Drug Users, France, 2012–20241
AU - Maxime Lefranc
AU - Adrien Pain
AU - Frédéric Dalle
AU - Pierre Baudino
AU - Claudio Plaisant
AU - Taieb Chouaki
AU - Joséphine Dorin
AU - Anne-Pauline Bellanger
AU - Julie Bonhomme
AU - Maxime Moniot
AU - Célia Rouges
AU - Françoise Botterel
AU - Grégoire Pasquier
AU - Lilia Hasseine
AU - Estelle Perraud-Cateau
AU - Jean-Pierre Gangneux
AU - Laurence Delhaes
AU - Damien Costa
AU - Juliette Guitard
AU - Alexandre Alanio
AU - Valérie Letscher-Bru
AU - Emilie Guemas
AU - Guillaume Desoubeaux
AU - Karine Boukris-Sitbon
AU - Olivier Lortholary
AU - Fanny Lanternier
AU - Marie Desnos-Ollivier
AU - Sébastien Imbert
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Emerging Infectious Diseases
DO - 10.3201/eid3209.251817
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05854946v1
AB - Wickerhamomyces anomalus is a yeast rarely involved in human invasive fungal diseases (IFD). We retrospectively analyzed 44 episodes of W. anomalus IFD in France during 2012-2024. Injecting drug use (IDU) was the main risk factor among 26/35 (74.3%) incident cases. Most infections were community acquired; overall 3-month mortality rate was 1/30 (3.3%). Short tandem repeat (STR) genotyping and whole-genome sequencing analyses revealed substantial genetic diversity among isolates. However, 1 STR genotype was shared by 2 IDU patients, suggesting common exposure. In addition, 1 isolate obtained from a cotton filter used for drug preparation was identical by STR genotyping to the bloodstream isolate from the same patient, indicating direct inoculation via contaminated material or poor injection practices. Our findings highlight the increased risk for W. anomalus IFD among IDU patients and emphasize the importance of targeted preventive measures within that population.
SN - 1080-6040
SN - 1080-6059
ER -