Disseminated Aspergillosis Associated With Tsunami Lung

Abstract

Many survivors of the tsunami that occurred following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, contracted a systemic disorder called "tsunami lung," a series of severe systemic infections following aspiration pneumonia caused by near drowning in the tsunami. Generally, the cause of aspiration pneumonia is polymicrobial, including fungi and aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, but Aspergillus infection is rarely reported. Here we report a case of tsunami lung complicated by disseminated aspergillosis, as diagnosed during autopsy.