[First report of a case of fungal keratitis due to Curvularia hominis in Spain].

BACKGROUND: Dematiaceous fungal genus Curvularia is a causal agent of keratitis, onychomycosis, and skin infections. In 2014, using DNA sequencing techniques, five new species, including Curvularia hominis, were described. In this article, a report is presented on the first clinical case of C.hominis infection in Spain. It concerns a corneal ulcer caused by this recently described species.

CASE REPORT: A 46 year-old male patient with a corneal ulcer in his left eye went to the Emergency Department. Specimens were obtained from the lesion, and the patient was admitted due to the risk of corneal perforation. The fungal culture of the specimens revealed a filamentous fungus that was identified by microscopic examination as Curvulariaspp. Using mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) the isolate was identified as Curvularia lunata. To confirm the identification, the isolate was sent to the National Centre of Microbiology in Spain, where ITS region sequencing was performed, and it was finally identified as C.hominis. The patient received voriconazole and progressed favourably. To repair the corneal damage, the patient received an amniotic membrane transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS: C.hominis should be considered a causal agent of keratitis and sequencing techniques are now necessary for species-level identification of Curvularia isolates. This is the first case report in Spain caused by this species.