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A Deadly Mold That Attacks the Brain Is on the Rise, and Scientists Aren’t Sure Why

Though C. bantiana was first discovered in 1911, inside a brain abscess, we’re still largely in the dark about it. We don’t know where its natural environmental reservoir is, for instance. And we’re not fully sure how the fungus infects people, though there is evidence that people are sometimes initially infected through the skin or by inhaling it into their lungs before it travels to the brain via the bloodstream (in this study, 12% of specimens came from lung or other pulmonary tissue, bolstering the latter hypothesis). We also don’t know why it likes our brains, nor why even healthy people can contract the infection. But the most concerning mystery about C. bantiana right now is its prevalence,…

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 Brain-Infecting Mold Detections Rose at One U.S. Lab, but 49 Cases Since 2009 Cannot Show National Risk

The report's main message is for doctors. The authors advise clinicians to "consider C. bantiana in patients who have signs and symptoms of a brain abscess." A three-drug antifungal combination given for at least two weeks has shown some effectiveness, and surgery to drain or remove the abscess was linked to better outcomes in a 2024 French study of 23 patients, Contagion Live noted.

Articles of Interest

Brain abscess due to Cladophialophora bantiana: a review of 124 cases

Brain abscess caused by Cladophialophora bantiana is a rare disease associated with high mortality due to delay in diagnosis and absence of standardized therapy. We reviewed 124 culture proven C. bantiana brain abscess cases; 103 cases published in English literature during 1952 through 2014 and 21 unpublished cases from our reference center.

Cladophialophora Bantiana : A Rare Intracerebral Fungal Abscess—Case Series and Review of Literature

Cladophialophora bantiana has been recognized as the most common cause of cerebral pheohyphomycosis. Pheoid fungi share the common phenotypic trait of being darkly colored. This is the result of the presence of dihydronaphthalene melamine in their cell walls.

Infections with little-understood deadly fungus jumped 4-fold in US from 2023 to 2025

C bantiana is a highly virulent mold that carries a 60% to 70% case-fatality rate, even with aggressive treatment. Half of infected patients don’t have weakened immune systems. Experts think the route of infection is inhalation or infection of a skin lesion, followed by spread to the brain, where it causes an abscess. But little is known about the risk factors or epidemiology of the fungus.

Neurotropic Fungus Infection Cases Increase Four-Fold

Clinicians should consider C bantiana in any patient with a brain abscess and should treat promptly with combination antifungal therapy, such as liposomal amphotericin B, posaconazole or voriconazole, and flucytosine for at least 2 weeks, along with surgical excision when possible.

Remarkable recovery from a Cladophialophora bantiana fungal brain abscess in an immunocompromised patient: a case report

Cladophialophora bantiana is a globally distributed dematiaceous mold which acts as an uncommon source of human infection. With a predilection for the central nervous system (CNS), this organism accounts for nearly half of all cerebral phaeohyphomycosis, with a mortality rate over 60%. Due to the rarity of this disease, treatment regimens are primarily based on retrospective reviews of case reports.

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Cladophialophora Species

Cladophialophora bantiana is neurotropic and causes cerebral phaehyphomycosis in the form of brain abscesses, for which the clinical course is usually fatal. It may also cause skin lesions. While Cladophialophora boppii and Cladophialophora carrioinii are isolated from patients with chromoblastomycosis, Cladophialophora boppii may also cause skin lesions.