Organism Library

Rhizopus species

Health Effects

Reported to be allergenic and often linked to occupational allergies. It may cause mucorosis in immune compromised individuals. The sites of infection are the lung, nasal sinus, brain, eye, and skin. Infection may be multiple sites. It may also cause zygomycosis (rhino-facial-cranial area, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and skin). This disease is associated with the acidotic diabetes, malnourished children, severely burned patients, and other diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma, immunosuppressive therapy, or use of cytotoxins and corticosteroids. This fungus shows a proclivity for vessel invasion resulting in embolization and necrosis of surrounding tissue.