Pneumocystis pneumonia.

Pneumocystis jiroveci is a common cause of pneumonia in South African patients with AIDS. Sulphonamide resistance may become a problem in South Africa, as patients are treated with prophylactic co-trimoxazole when their CD4 counts fall below 200 cells/microliter. Failure of prophylaxis and treatment has been observed, possibly due to infection with sulphonamide-resistant strains. Sulphonamide resistance has been reported elsewhere, and is due to point mutations at codons 55 and 57 of the dihydropteroate synthase gene. Strain typing is useful for molecular epidemiological purposes.