Bone marrow Penicillium marneffei infection in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients: report of 35 cases.

Penicilliosis is a tropical disease occurring mostly in Southeast Asia. The incidence of Penicillium marneffei infection in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients is increasing due to the infection of the HIV in the population in recent years. In this report, the bone marrow smears of 331 AIDS patients have been examined for the evidence of P. marneffei infection, and 35 (10.6%) of whom were found positive, showing the existing of pathogen in the bone marrow smears. This result indicates that bone marrow P. marneffei infection is a serious complication in HIV infected patients and the inspection of bone marrow should be considered as a routine procedure during treatment.