The key difference between Coccidioides and Coccidioidomycosis is that Coccidioides is a genus of dimorphic ascomycete classified in the family of Onygenaceae, while coccidioidomycosis is an infection caused by fungal species such as Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii.
There are different fungal diseases, such as candidiasis, cryptococcosis, aspergillosis, coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, and pneumocystis pneumonia, affecting humans. Coccidioides and coccidioidomycosis are two associated terms. This is because the member species in the genus Coccidioides cause a fungal infection called coccidioidomycosis or valley fever. However, C. immitis and C. posadasii are the two pathogenic species in this genus. C. esteriformis, C. histosporocellularis, and C. rosea are other nonpathogenic species in this genus.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Coccidioides
3. What is Coccidioidomycosis
4. Similarities – Coccidioides and Coccidioidomycosis
5. Coccidioides vs. Coccidioidomycosis in Tabular Form
6. FAQ – Coccidioides and Coccidioidomycosis
7. Summary – Coccidioides vs. Coccidioidomycosis
What is Coccidioides?
Coccidioides is a genus of dimorphic ascomycetes. They are fungal species in the family of Onygenaceae. Member species of this genus cause a fungal disease in humans called coccidioidomycosis or San Joaquin Valley fever. This disease is mainly seen in the Western Hemisphere and is especially endemic in the Southwestern United States. Humans acquire this disease through respiratory inhalation of spores of some fungal species of the Coccidioides genus disseminated in their natural habitat. The fungal species responsible for coccidioidomycosis are C. immitis and C. posadasii. However, C. esteriformis, C. histosporocellularis, and C. rosea are other nonpathogenic species in this genus.
Figure 01: Coccidioides
Coccidioides species are soil fungi. These species were first discovered in 1892 by a medical student named Alejandro Posadas in an Argentinian soldier with a widespread disease in his body. Furthermore, in 2002, another species that causes coccidioidomycosis was identified, termed C. posadasii, in addition to C. immitis.
What is Coccidioidomycosis?
Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease also known as Valley fever. It is mainly caused by two fungal species in the genus Coccidioides. They are C. immitis and C. posadasii. Moreover, the symptoms of this condition are chronic cough, coughing up blood, weight loss, chest pain, and shortness of breath. The complications resulting from this condition are pneumonia, fluid pus in the lungs, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and disease spreading outside the lungs.
Figure 02: Coccidioidomycosis
Coccidioidomycosis can be diagnosed through physical symptoms evaluation, blood test, biopsy, and imaging tests like chest X-ray and CT scan. Furthermore, coccidioidomycosis can be treated through antifungal medications such as fluconazole, itraconazole, and amphotericin B.
What are the Similarities Between Coccidioides and Coccidioidomycosis?
- Coccidioides and coccidioidomycosis are two associated terms.
- The member species in the genus Coccidioides cause coccidioidomycosis
- Both the pathogenic species in the genus Coccidioides, which are causative agents of coccidioidomycosis, can be diagnosed through laboratory culturing.
- Antifungal medications may control them.
What is the Difference Between Coccidioides and Coccidioidomycosis?
Coccidioides is a genus of dimorphic ascomycetes classified in the family of Onygenaceae, while coccidioidomycosis is an infection caused by the fungal species named Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii. Thus, this is the key difference between coccidioides and coccidioidomycosis. Furthermore, Coccidioides is a fungal genus, while coccidioidomycosis is a human disease caused by some fungal species in the genus Coccidioides.
The infographic below presents the differences between coccidioides and coccidioidomycosis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
FAQ: Coccidioides and Coccidioidomycosis
Is coccidioidomycosis the same as Coccidioides?
Coccidioidomycosis is a disease caused by fungi of the genus Coccidioides. Therefore, Coccidioides is a genus of fungi.
What are the different types of coccidioidomycosis?
Acute pulmonary coccidioidomycosis, chronic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis, and disseminated coccidioidomycosis are the three types of coccidioidomycosis.
How do you diagnose coccidioidomycosis?
Coccidioidomycosis can be diagnosed by sputum samples produced by coughing or obtained by bronchoscopy, chest x-ray or CT scan, biopsy of the lungs, etc.
Summary – Coccidioides vs. Coccidioidomycosis
Coccidioides cause coccidioidomycosis, which is a fungal disease. Coccidioides is a genus of dimorphic ascomycetes classified in the family of Onygenaceae. Therefore, coccidioidomycosis is an infection caused by the fungal species in the genus of Coccidioides. Species that are responsible for coccidioidomycosis are mainly Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii. So, this summarizes the difference between coccidioides and coccidioidomycosis.
Reference:
1. “Coccidioides Immitis – An Overview.” ScienceDirect Topics.
2. “Valley Fever.” Cleveland Clinic.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Coccidioides immitis. A typical culture at eight weeks (Huppert)” By Microbe World (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED) via Flickr
2. “Coccidioidomycosis – gms – very high mag” By Nephron – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia