Aspergillus udagawae is a cryptic species of Aspergillus section Fumigati. Here, we report a case of canaliculitis with isolated A. udagawae. Fungal canaliculitis is a rare lacrimal disease, and its clinical features are poorly understood. The causative fungus was initially misclassified as Aspergillus thermomutatus by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) but was finally identified as A. udagawae by β-tubulin genetic analysis. The patient showed rapid improvement and did not experience relapse after drainage alone, without antifungal therapy. A. udagawae has low virulence, which may be related to the minimally invasive nature of the infection.
Keywords: Aspergillus udagawae; canaliculitis; diabetes mellitus; matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry; β-tubulin.