Abstract
Nasopharyngeal swabbings, obtained from AIDS patients, were plated onto Niger seed agar containing antibiotics. Cryptococcus neoformans was isolated from 35 out of 84 patients (41.7%) diagnosed as primary cryptococcal cases before antifungal administration, and 8 out of 86 (9.3%) cryptococcosis patients on antifungal therapy. The fungus could not be isolated from any of 447 samples from 194 AIDS patients not diagnosed with cryptococcosis. These findings are novel in that the presence of C. neoformans in AIDS patients at this site has never been looked at previously.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Zuger A, Louie E, Holzman RS, Simberkoff MS, Rahal JJ. Cryptococcal disease in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: Diagnostic features and out come of treatment. Ann Intern Med 1986; 104: 234‐240.
Cume BP, Casadevall A. Estimation of the prevalence of cryptococcal infection among patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus in New York City. Cm invest Dis 1994; 19; 1029‐1033.
Neilson JB, Fromting RA, Bulmer GS. Cryptococcus neoformans: size range of infectious particles from aerosolized soil. Infect immun 1977; 17: 634‐638.
Kwon-Chung KJ. A new species of Filobasidiella, the sexual state of Cryptococcus neoformans, B and C serotypes. Mycologia 1976; 68: 942‐946.
Wickes BL, Wayorga ME, Edman U, Edman JC. Dimorphic and haploid fruiting in Cryptococcus neoformans: Association with the alpha mating type. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1996; 93: 7327‐7331.
Powell KE, Dahl Ba, Weeks RJ, Tosh FE. Airborne Cryptococcus neoformans form pigeon excreta compatible with alveolar deposition. J Infect Dis 1972; 125: 412‐415.
Sukroongreung S, Kittiniyom K, Nilakul C, Tantimavanich S. Pathogenicity of basidiospores of Filobasidiella neoformans var. neoformans. J Med Vet Mycol 1998; 36: 419‐424.
Randhawa HS, Paliwal DK. Survey of Cryptococcus neoformans in the respiratory tract of patients with bronchopulmonary disorders and in the air. Sabouraudia 1979; 17: 399‐404.
Howard DH. The commensalism of Cryptococcus neoformans. Sabouraudia 1973; 11: 171‐174.
Malik R, Wigney DI. Muir DB. Love DN. Asymtomatic carriage of Cryptococcus neoformans in dogs and cats. J Med Vet Mycol 1997; 35: 27‐31.
Anderson DA, Sagha HM. Persistence of infection in mice inoculated intranasally with Cryptococcus neoformans. Mycopathologia 1988; 104: 163‐169.
Warren NG, Hazen KC. Candida, Cryptococcus, and other yeasts of medical importance. In: Murray PR, Baron EJ, Pealler MA, Tenover FC, Yolken RH, eds. Manual of Clinical Microbiology. Washington, D.C. ASM Press. 1995, 723–737.
Kittin Es, Feldman M, Nyska A, Weissman BA, Muller J, Levine HB. Cryptococcosis of the nasopharynx in mice and rats. Mycopathologia 1988; 101: 99‐104.
Barron CN. Cryptococcosis in animals. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1955; 127: 125‐132
Olander HJ, Reed H, Pier AC. Treatment of feline nasal cryptococcosis. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1963; 142: 138‐43.
Dixon DM, Polak A. In vivo and in vitro studies with an atypical, rhinotropic isolate of Cryptococcus neoformans. Mycopathologia 1986; 96: 33‐40.
Fromtling RA, Abruzzo GK, Ruiz A. Cryptococcus neoformans: A central nervous system isolate from an AIDS patient that is rhinotropic in a normal mouse model. Mycopathologia 1988; 102: 79‐86.
Lim TS, Murphy JW, Cauley LK, Host-ethiological agent interactions in intranasally and intraperitoneally induced cryptococcosis in mice Infect Immun 1980; 29: 633‐641.
Gome GL, Boni M, Primo CC. The invasive behaviour of Cryptococcus neoformans: a possibility of direct access to the central nervous system? Mycopathologia 1997; 140: 1‐11.
Lima C, Vital JP. Olfactory pathways in three patients with cryptococcal meningitis and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. J Neuro Sci 1994; 123: 195‐199.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sukroongreung, S., Eampokalap, B., Tansuphaswadikul, S. et al. Recovery of Cryptococcus neoformans from the nasopharynx of AIDS patients. Mycopathologia 143, 131–134 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006909532185
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006909532185