1. Kidd SE, Hagen F, Tscharke RL, Bartlett KH, Fyfe M, MacDougall L, et al. A rare genotype of Cryptococcus gattii caused the cryptococcosis outbreak on Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004;101:17258–63. doi:10.1073/pnas.0402981101 2. Montagna MT, Viviani MA, Pulito A, Aralla C, Tortorano AM, Fiore L, et al. Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii in Italy. No...

One of the factors causing treatment failure in cryptococcosis is the resistance of Cryptococcus spp. to antifungal drugs, which has motivated the susceptibility assessment of isolates from patients with cryptococcosis, different clinical conditions and infections outcomes. Clinical isolates of Cryptococcus spp. from three different groups of patients were studied in the present investigation: ...

Dr. Beatriz L. Gomez and colleagues described a new inhibition immunoassay for the diagnosis of histoplasmosis (1). My laboratory developed and extensively evaluated an antibody sandwich immunoassay for this purpose. It is important to contrast the two methods, as their performance characteristics differ. The characteristics of the assay developed in my laboratory are high sensitivity in dissem...

Cryptococcus laurentii is one of several non-neoformans cryptococci that have rarely been associated with human infection. The spectrum of clinical infection due to non-neoformans species ranges from skin lesions to fungaemia. Most cases of non-neoformans fungaemia have been nosocomially acquired and have been associated with indwelling intravascular catheters and neutropenia. Limited data on i...

In the present study basidiomycetous yeast species were characterised from soil samples in different regions of Iran. Soil samples were collected from 5–15 cm depth, subsequently yeasts were isolated and purified. Yeast isolates were identified using D1/D2 domains of 26S rRNA and physiologic tests. The results of this study revealed a rich diversity amongst basidiomycetous yeast species in the ...

Fluconazole is extensively used for the treatment of candidiasis and cryptococcosis. Among other factors, successful treatment is related to appropriate fluconazole levels in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. In the present study, fluconazole levels were determined in 15 patients, 14 of whom had AIDS and 13 had neurocryptococcosis. The only selection criterion was treatment with fluconazole, which...

Copper homeostasis is important for virulence of the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, which can cause lethal meningoencephalitis in humans. Cryptococcus cells encounter high copper levels in the lung, where infection is initiated, and low copper levels in the brain. Here we demonstrate that two Cryptococcus copper transporters, Ctr1 and Ctr4, differentially influence fungal survival during pulmo...