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Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is the agent of the human systemic disease paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) which affects individuals in endemic areas extending from Argentina to Central America. It is the most prevalent deep mycosis in this vast region. Infected people include rural workers but also dwellers of urban centers located on the route of migration movements. Ten million people may be infected and up to 2% of them may develop the disease (Restrepo, 1985; McEwen et al., 1995; Camargo & Franco, 2000). PCM is the eighth most common cause of death among chronic/recurrent infections and parasitic diseases in Brazil (Coutinho et al., 2002). It is also recognized as one of the imported fungal infections in Japan. More than 15 cases of PCM have been reported in that region with the diagnosis methods including the amplification of P. brasiliensis genes (Sano et al., 2001).

Fusarium spp. and Scedosporium spp. have emerged as important fungal pathogens during the last decades causing significant morbidity and mortality especially in immunocompromised patients. The two fungal genera possess several biological and clinical characteristics in common, most notably the very high mortality of the diseases caused by them, and thus they are discussed together. Fusarium spp. are ubiquitus fungi commonly found in soil, water, decomposing organic matter, and plants. Fusarium spp. can colonize pharyngeal specimens of healthy adults and also the conjunctival sac, especially in diseased eyes. However, in immunologically competent hosts, Fusarium spp. infections are very rare involving mainly skin around surgical wounds, burns, deep ulcers, nails, or cornea. Less commonly, these organisms have been documented as aetiological agents in localized tissue infections, including septic arthritis, endophthalmitis, cystitis, peritonitis, and brain abscesses (Guarro & Gene, 1995; Nucci & Anaissie, 2002; Jensen et al., 2004).