Intestinal prevalence of the neurotropic black yeast Exophiala (Wangiella) dermatitidis in healthy and impaired individuals

A screening of 2300 samples of faeces from humans with and without underlying disease revealed that the black yeast Exophiala dermatitidis is present at a frequency of 5.2 per thousand (n=12). Eight individuals positive for the fungus had diarrhoea at the moment of its isolation, out of 11 where relevant information was available. Judging from repeated isolation over several weeks in one patient, the organism is able to persist in the human intestinal tract.