A rare mold called Cladophialophora bantiana can cause brain abscesses in people with healthy immune systems, and doctors often need brain tissue rather than spinal fluid to confirm it. A CDC report published in the Oct. 15 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report described 49 cases detected at one laboratory since 2009, most from brain tissue samples.
In one fatal case, fungal DNA tests on spinal fluid came back negative, both in a sample taken at the time of a brain biopsy and in one taken a month earlier. That detail matters for patients and families, because a negative spinal fluid test does not always rule out this infection.
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