Edition 7 - June, 2000

BCCM™/IHEM, Biomedical fungi and yeasts collection

BCCM/IHEM Culture Collection is a biomedical collection of fungi and yeasts, located at the Mycology Section of the Scientific Institute of Public Health. The origin of this collection goes back to 1980, and in 1983 it became part of the Belgian Coordinated Collections of Microorganisms. Activities of the Collection are strongly linked with those of the host laboratory, which is the reference centre of medical mycology for the Ministry of Public Health.

Thirty years ago, the known filamentous fungi and yeasts inducing infectious diseases of fungal origin in man totalled approximately a hundred different species. Nowadays, hundreds more species are listed. Moreover, if allergic or toxic diseases are taken into account, this list may be extended considerably, and is growing daily.

BCCM/IHEM hosts important subcollections of Candida species, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus collected in the framework of international programmes, national studies, and reference laboratory activities. The collection is, for example, involved in two European Epidemiological surveys initiated by ECMM (European Confederation on Medical Mycology) working groups: candidemia and cryptococcosis. The strains collected are sent by participating laboratories together with a file containing all the relevant clinical data. They are then preserved in the BCCM/IHEM Collection and tested for antifungal susceptibility with the most common drugs used. The BIOMED project is another example. As a partner of EBGA network (European Group for Research on Biotypes and Genotypes of Aspergillus), the host laboratory gathers hundreds of A. fumigatus strains and integrates them into the BCCM/IHEM collection.
These A. fumigatus strains are isolated from hematological and organ transplant patients, in order to be typed by different molecular techniques, and also to study in vitro potential acquired resistance to antifungal drugs. All the clinically-well-documented strains are lyophilised and integrated into the BCCM/IHEM Collection.

The BCCM/IHEM Collection is also participating in the quality evaluation of mycological analyses in clinical laboratories, by distributing lyophilised reference strains.

The host laboratory's expertise in bioaudits of work and home environments related to allergic or toxic pathologies has also contributed to the expansion of BCCM/IHEM Collection. Excessive insulation has often led to an increase of moulds, some of which are allergenic. Others produce highly toxic secondary metabolites. The most interesting strains isolated during these surveys are integrated in the BCCM/IHEM Collection and in some cases are used to prepare a battery of personalised proteic fungal extracts for immunological studies, and cutaneous tests.

Another important programme developed by the host laboratory concerns the prevention of nosocomial mycoses. Molecular typing techniques for the most pathogenic Aspergillus species, A. fumigatus, A. terreus and A. flavus, have thus been developed in order to identify potential sources of contamination in hospitals.

Production of fungal biomasses, used by pharmaceutical companies for the preparation of allergenic extracts, or for screening molecules of medical interest, is also closely linked to the BCCM/IHEM Collection.

The host laboratory regularly organises courses and workshops, among them the workshop "Moulds and allergy", given in collaboration with CEMBREU (Centre Européen Médical et Bioclimatique de Recherches et d'Enseignement Universitaire, Briançon, France), and a workshop on "Microbiological quality of work places and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning)".

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