DOCSLIB.ORG

Cryptococcus Gattii Outbreak

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Cryptococcus Gattii Outbreak The recent Cryptococcus gattii outbreak A deadly pathway… From Trees to Lungs to Brain ryptococcus gattii disease. The route of C has been in the infection is from breathing the news lately, due to a recent airborne organism, which outbreak in the Pacific becomes lodged in the Northwest. This new, more pulmonary tissues. virulent strain is expected to by Jay Hardy, CLS, SM (NRCM) spread further throughout the Symptoms Northwest and Northern California in the coming The pulmonary disease, Jay Hardy is the founder and months. known as cpryptococcosis, president of Hardy Diagnostics. develops slowly. After He began his career in exposure it can take two to microbiology as a Medical Technologist in Santa Barbara, twelve months for symptoms California. to appear, with the usual onset In 1980, he began at six or seven months. manufacturing culture media for the local hospitals. Today, The symptoms include: Hardy Diagnostics is the third largest media manufacturer in the U.S. • Cough that lasts weeks or months To ensure rapid and reliable turn around time, Hardy • Sharp chest pain Figure 1: An India ink stain Diagnostics maintains six • Unexplained shortness of showing the capsule surrounding distribution centers, and breath produces over 3,000 products the C. gattii cells in the yeast form used in clinical and industrial at 1,000X. Photo from Haley/CDC. • Severe headache microbiology laboratories • Confusion throughout the world. The organism is a fungus that • Fever is usually found in the soil • Night sweats www.HardyDiagnostics.com and on trees. It is not spread • Unintended weight loss from human to human or animal to human. However, Those that are most some animals and pets have susceptible are those with a been known to contract this weakened immune system, although healthy individuals This new strain, dubbed way to protect against the have been known to be VGIIc, has been implicated in spread of this organism. infected as well, as seen in the the recent outbreak in Oregon. recent outbreak. Another strain of the same History pathogen, dubbed subtype More serious infections VGIIa, was responsible for 19 C. gattii is a close relative of develop into meningitis and deaths in Canada back in Cryptococcus neoformans, cerebral cryptococcomas. 1999. At that time, 218 people which is often implicated in were infected on Vancouver HIV/AIDS patients due to Island, in British Columbia; their impaired immunity. C. nine percent of these cases gattii is more likely to strike were fatal. Researchers say healthy individuals than is C. that the new form is very neoformans. It is also more similar to the old one; likely to progress from the however, the new strain is lungs to the brain (meningitis) killing one of every four than C. neoformans. victims. It's puzzling that the North An electron microscope view of the American strains of this fungus from Duke University. fungus are so virulent, given that C. gattii has existed in The Geography of Infection South America, Africa and Australia for many years Infections have been found in where it is commonplace, but Washington, Oregon, British much less dangerous. Columbia, and perhaps Figure 2: Colonies of Cryptococcus Northern California. will turn brown on Caffeic Acid Just how virulent is this new Agar also known as Bird Seed strain? A recent study by Agar. Most of the original cases Edmund Byrne at Duke were found on the East side of University found that the The infection was once Vancouver Island in British Oregon strain of considered endemic, Columbia, Canada beginning Cryptococcus gattii killed 25 occurring sporadically in the in 1999. percent of the people it tropics and subtropics where infected, but the overall the fungus was known to The New Strain numbers of people infected grow on the eucalyptus trees. were small. In lab animals, the In 1999, the range of this A more virulent stain has disease was found to be 100% pathogen expanded to claimed six lives in Oregon fatal, which is not the case Vancouver Island, British and a total of 21 have become with previous strains. Columbia, Canada. Since infected recently. Particularly 2004, over 50 cases of C. worrisome is that the new The public has been cautioned gattii infection have been strain can strike otherwise against becoming panicked, documented in the Pacific healthy individuals and has while being reminded of the Northwest of the United been known to progress into extreme rarity of this disease. States. The source is usually CNS tissue. Even so, there is currently no traced back to trees. Over 50 species of trees have been found as a source of C. gattii spores. During a recent study on Vancouver Island in Canada, the organism was isolated in high traffic areas in automobile wheels and Figure 4: A rapid caffeic acid disk footwear. Another common can be used to identify Cryptococcus within four hours. location was in woodchips Figure 6: C. gattii turning the used for landscaping. An India ink prep is useful in media blue on a CGB Agar plate within five days. This media will detecting the polysaccharide Recently, there have been distinguish C. gattii from C. capsule surrounding the several reports of a more neoformans. irregularly sized yeast cells. deadly strain that is a hybrid of C. neoformans and C. gattii All strains of C. neoformans found in Europe and Canada. are not capable of producing this color change. Treatment Once correctly diagnosed, C. gattii is treated with the anti- fungals, amphotericin B and fluconazole. Treatment is Figure 5: Colonies showing prolonged (3 to 12 months) reddish brown pigment production and is oftentimes less on Caffeic Acid Agar (Bird Seed effective than with C. Figure 3: A three day old culture of Agar). neoformans infections. Cryptococcus on a Caffeic Acid Agar Slant. One way to distinguish C. neoformans from C. gattii is Now that we are over the with the use of CGB Agar. Identification H1N1 Influenza pandemic, This highly selective medium we are once again challenged utilizes the ability of C. gattii Cryptococcus spp. are easily with a new outbreak to keep to create an alkaline shift in cultured on typical fungal our eyes on in the coming pH when creatine is degraded media. Caffeic Acid Agar will months. As a somewhat to ammonia. This causes the cause the colonies to turn “new” organism, further study media to turn from yellow- brown. Another more rapid of C. gattii is definitely green to cobalt blue. method involves the use of a warranted. paper disk containing caffeic acid. Jay Hardy, CLS, SM (NRCM) Santa Maria, CA .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Idiopathic CD4 Lymphocytopenia: Spectrum of Opportunistic Infections, Malignancies, and Autoimmune Diseases
    Published online: 2021-08-09 REVIEW ARTICLE Idiopathic CD4 Lymphocytopenia: Spectrum of opportunistic infections, malignancies, and autoimmune diseases Dina S. Ahmad, Mohammad Esmadi, William C. Steinmann Department of Internal Medicine, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA Access this article online ABSTRACT Website: www.avicennajmed.com DOI: 10.4103/2231-0770.114121 Idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia (ICL) was first defined in 1992 by the US Centers for Disease Quick Response Code: Control and Prevention (CDC) as the repeated presence of a CD4+ T lymphocyte count of fewer than 300 cells per cubic millimeter or of less than 20% of total T cells with no evidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and no condition that might cause depressed CD4 counts. Most of our knowledge about ICL comes from scattered case reports. The aim of this study was to collect comprehensive data from the previously published cases to understand the characteristics of this rare condition. We searched the PubMed database and Science Direct for case reports since 1989 for Idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia cases. We found 258 cases diagnosed with ICL in 143 published papers. We collected data about age, sex, pathogens, site of infections, CD4 count, CD8 count, CD4:CD8 ratio, presence of HIV risk factors, malignancies, autoimmune diseases and whether the patients survived or died. The mean age at diagnosis of first opportunistic infection (or ICL if no opportunistic infection reported) was 40.7 ± 19.2 years (standard deviation), with a range of 1 to 85. One-sixty (62%) patients were males, 91 (35.2%) were females, and 7 (2.7%) patients were not identified whether males or females.
    [Show full text]
  • 153.Full.Pdf
    Copyright Ó 2010 by the Genetics Society of America DOI: 10.1534/genetics.109.113027 A Tetrad Analysis of the Basidiomycete Fungus Cryptococcus neoformans Alexander Idnurm Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics, School of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri 64110 Manuscript received December 10, 2009 Accepted for publication February 9, 2010 ABSTRACT Cryptococcus neoformans is a basidiomycete fungus that is found worldwide and causes disease in humans and animal species. The fungus grows asexually as a budding yeast. Under laboratory conditions it is capable of sexual reproduction between two mating types. After cell fusion a dikaryotic filament develops, at the tip of which a basidium gives rise to four chains of basidiospores. Because the chains each comprise 10–30 spores, rather than single spores, the analysis of individual meiotic events has not been attempted in C. neoformans in the style of tetrad analyses performed in other fungal species. Here, the basidiospores from .100 basidia were micromanipulated and the resultant .2500 progeny analyzed for three genetic markers to understand the sexual process in this fungus, leading to four observations: (i) Marker seg- regation provides genetic evidence for a single meiotic event within the basidium followed by multiple rounds of mitosis. (ii) Using each basidium as an unordered tetrad, the ADE2 and URA5 genes are linked to their centromeres, consistent with adjacent genomic regions rich in repetitive elements predicted to comprise Cryptococcus centromeres. (iii) Lack of germination of basidiospores is attributed to aneuploidy, rather than dormancy. (iv) Analysis of basidiospores derived from single chains demonstrates that each chain can contain different genotypes.
    [Show full text]
  • Product Sheet Info
    Product Information Sheet for NR-50430 Cryptococcus gattii, Strain C10 Propagation: 1. Keep vial frozen until ready for use; thaw rapidly. Catalog No. NR-50430 2. Inoculate an agar plate with approximately 50 µL of thawed culture and/or transfer the entire thawed aliquot into a single tube of broth For research use only. Not for human use. 3. Incubate the plate and/or tube at 25°C for 2 to 4 days. Contributor: Citation: Brian Wong, M.D., Professor, and Igor Bruzual, Ph.D., Acknowledgment for publications should read “The following Infectious Disease Division, Department of Medicine, Oregon reagent was obtained through BEI Resources, NIAID, NIH: Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA Cryptococcus gattii, Strain C10, NR-50430.” Manufacturer: Biosafety Level: 2 BEI Resources Appropriate safety procedures should always be used with this material. Laboratory safety is discussed in the following Product Description: publication: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Classification: Tremellaceae, Cryptococcus Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Species: Cryptococcus gattii Prevention, and National Institutes of Health. Biosafety in Strain: C10 Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories. 5th ed. Original Source: Cryptococcus gattii (C. gattii), strain C10 Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009; see was isolated from an unknown human source in the Pacific www.cdc.gov/biosafety/publications/bmbl5/index.htm. Northwest region of North America.1 Comments: C. gattii, strain C10 was deposited as lineage Disclaimers: VGIIa and resistant to azoles.1 You are authorized to use this product for research use only. The Cryptococcus species complex is comprised of four It is not intended for human use.
    [Show full text]
  • Diversity of the Cryptococcus Neoformans-Cryptococcus Gattii Species Complex Marjan Bovers1, Ferry Hagen1 and Teun Boekhout1,2
    S4 Rev Iberoam Micol 2008; 25: S4-S12 Review Diversity of the Cryptococcus neoformans-Cryptococcus gattii species complex Marjan Bovers1, Ferry Hagen1 and Teun Boekhout1,2 1Yeast Research Group, CBS Fungal Diversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands; 2Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands Summary More than 110 years of study of the Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii species complex has resulted in an enormous accumulation of fundamental, applied biological and clinical knowledge. Recent developments in our understanding of the diversity within the species complex are presented, emphasizing the intraspecific complexity, which includes species, microspecies, hybrids, serotypes and genotypes. Each of these may have different roles in disease. An overview of obsolete and current names is presented. Key words Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus gattii, Yeast, Taxonomy, Pathogen. Diversidad del complejo de especies Cryptococcus neoformans-Cryptococcus gattii Resumen Más de 110 años de estudio sobre el complejo de especies Cryptococcus neoformans y Cryptococcus gattii han dado lugar a un gran acúmulo de conocimiento básico, aplicado y clínico. En este artículo se describen los avances recientes en la comprensión de su diversidad, haciendo énfasis en la complejidad intraespecífica que presenta y que llega a englobar especies, microespecies, híbridos, serotipos y genotipos. Cada uno de estos grupos puede jugar un papel diferente en la enfermedad. Se presenta también una visión global de los nombres obsoletos y actuales de estos taxones. Palabras clave Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus gattii, Levaduras, Patógeno, Taxonomía. Introduction racteristics of the genus Saccharomyces were not present, he placed these species in the genus Cryptococcus [166].
    [Show full text]
  • A Silver Bullet in a Golden Age of Functional Genomics: the Impact of Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Fungi
    Idnurm, A. , Bailey, A. M., Cairns, T., Elliott, C., Foster, G., Ianiri, G., & Jeon, J. (2017). A silver bullet in a golden age of functional genomics: the impact of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of fungi. Fungal Biology and Biotechnology, 4, [4:6]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40694- 017-0035-0 Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record License (if available): CC BY Link to published version (if available): 10.1186/s40694-017-0035-0 Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via BMC at https://fungalbiolbiotech.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40694-017-0035-0. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ Idnurm et al. Fungal Biol Biotechnol (2017) 4:6 DOI 10.1186/s40694-017-0035-0 Fungal Biology and Biotechnology REVIEW Open Access A silver bullet in a golden age of functional genomics: the impact of Agrobacterium‑mediated transformation of fungi Alexander Idnurm1* , Andy M. Bailey2, Timothy C. Cairns3, Candace E. Elliott1, Gary D. Foster2, Giuseppe Ianiri4 and Junhyun Jeon5 Abstract The implementation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens as a transformation tool revolutionized approaches to discover and understand gene functions in a large number of fungal species. A.
    [Show full text]
  • Idiopathic CD4 Lymphocytopenia Presenting As Refractory Cryptococcal Meningitis
    Case Report Idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia presenting as refractory cryptococcal meningitis A. Sharma, V. Lal, M. Modi, D. Khurana, S. Bal, S. Prabhakar Department of Neurology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh-160 012, India Abstract Idiopathic CD4 T-lymphocytopenia (ICL) is a syndrome characterized by depletion of CD4 T-cells without evidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. There are a few reported cases of ICL associated with different diseases and clinical conditions, most commonly the opportunistic infections like Tuberculosis, fungal and parasitic diseases which are also seen in HIV-positive patients. We report a case without risk factors or laboratory evidence of HIV infection who presented with refractory cryptococcal meningitis and was found to have ICL. Key Words Cryptococcus, CD4, idiopathic For correspondence: Dr. Vivek Lal, Department of Neurology, PGIMER, Sector-12, Chandigarh-160 012, India. E-mail: [email protected] Ann Indian Acad Neurol 2010;13:136-8 [DOI: 10.4103/0972-2327.64646] Introduction and decreased pain and temperature sensation in the right half of the body, with sparing of the face. The neurological Idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia (ICL) was defi ned by the examination was otherwise normal. Plain magnetic resonance United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention imaging (MRI) brain revealed a T2 hyperintensity in the (CDC) as a clinical condition in patients with depressed left thalamus, extending to involve the left corona radiata numbers of circulating CD4 T lymphocytes (<300 cells/µl or [Figure 1]. There was no meningeal enhancement on contrast- <20% of total T cells) at a minimum of two separate time points enhanced MRI.
    [Show full text]
  • Safety Precautions for Working with Cryptococcus Neoformans
    Safety Precautions for Working with Cryptococcus neoformans The basidiomycete fungus Cryptococcus neoformans is an invasive opportunistic pathogen of the central nervous system and the most frequent cause of fungal meningitis worldwide. Although Cryptococcus is a problem in the United States, it is significantly more prevalent and especially devastating in the developing world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in in more than 625,000 deaths per year worldwide. C. neoformans survives in the environment within soil, trees, and bird guano, where it can interact with wild animals or microbial predators, maintaining its virulence. Human infection is thought to be acquired by inhalation of desiccated yeast cells or spores from an environmental source. C. neoformans can colonize the host respiratory tract without producing any disease. Infection is typically asymptomatic, and it can be either cleared or enter a dormant, latent form. When host immunity is compromised, the dormant form can be reactivated and disseminate hematogenously to cause systemic infection. C. neoformans can infect or spread to any organ to cause localized infections involving the skin, eyes, myocardium, bones, joints, lungs, prostate gland, or urinary tract, in addition to its propensity to infect the central nervous systems. The following diseases and medications are risk factors for C. neoformans infection and are associated with at least some degree of immunosuppression: Ø HIV/AIDs (CD4 < 100cells/mm) Ø Corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive medications for cancer, chemotherapy, or organ transplants Ø Solid organ transplantations Ø Diabetes mellitus Ø Heart, lung, or liver disease Ø Pregnancy Even otherwise healthy, fully immunocompetent individuals can develop cryptococcosis, as may well be the case in a lab accident.
    [Show full text]
  • Associations Between Cryptococcus Genotypes, Phenotypes, and Clinical Parameters of Human Disease: a Review
    Journal of Fungi Review Associations between Cryptococcus Genotypes, Phenotypes, and Clinical Parameters of Human Disease: A Review Marhiah C. Montoya 1,2 , Paul M. Magwene 3 and John R. Perfect 1,2,* 1 Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA; [email protected] 2 Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA 3 Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: The genus Cryptococcus contains two primary species complexes that are significant op- portunistic human fungal pathogens: C. neoformans and C. gattii. In humans, cryptococcosis can manifest in many ways, but most often results in either pulmonary or central nervous system disease. Patients with cryptococcosis can display a variety of symptoms on a spectrum of severity because of the interaction between yeast and host. The bulk of our knowledge regarding Cryptococcus and the mechanisms of disease stem from in vitro experiments and in vivo animal models that make a fair attempt, but do not recapitulate the conditions inside the human host. To better understand the dynamics of initiation and progression in cryptococcal disease, it is important to study the genetic and phenotypic differences in the context of human infection to identify the human and fungal risk factors that contribute to pathogenesis and poor clinical outcomes. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the different clinical presentations and health outcomes that are associated with pathogenicity and virulence of cryptococcal strains with respect to specific Citation: Montoya, M.C.; Magwene, P.M.; Perfect, J.R.
    [Show full text]
  • Health and Disease Status in a Threatened Marsupial, the Quokka (Setonix Brachyurus)
    Health and disease status in a threatened marsupial, the quokka (Setonix brachyurus) Pedro Martínez-Pérez Veterinarian (Hons), MVS Conservation Medicine This thesis was submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Wildlife Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University School of Veterinary and Life Sciences Murdoch University Murdoch, Western Australia January 2016 Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content, work which has not been previously submitted for a degree at any tertiary educational institution. _______________________________________________ Pedro A. Martínez-Pérez I Abstract Between 1901 and 1931, there were at least six anecdotal records of disease outbreaks in mainland quokkas (Setonix brachyurus) that were associated with mass. This time period pre-dates the arrival of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Despite these outbreaks, little or no research has been carried out to establish health and disease baseline data of the fragmented and scattered, extant populations. Epidemiological data was determined for a range of potential pathogens, and established physiological reference intervals of apparently healthy, wild quokkas on Rottnest Island and mainland locations. There were significant differences between Rottnest Island and mainland quokkas. Rottnest Island animals had haemograms with mark evidence of oxidative injury and bone marrow response consistent with a regenerative normocytic hypochromic anaemia. Except alkaline phosphatase (ALP), all blood chemistry analytes where higher in mainland animals, with particular emphasis on creatine kinase (CK), alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST) and vitamin E. Some other key findings include a widespread presence of a novel herpesvirus (MaHV-6), the recovery of Cryptococcus neoformans var.
    [Show full text]
  • A Silver Bullet in a Golden Age of Functional Genomics: the Impact of Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Fungi
    Idnurm et al. Fungal Biol Biotechnol (2017) 4:6 DOI 10.1186/s40694-017-0035-0 Fungal Biology and Biotechnology REVIEW Open Access A silver bullet in a golden age of functional genomics: the impact of Agrobacterium‑mediated transformation of fungi Alexander Idnurm1* , Andy M. Bailey2, Timothy C. Cairns3, Candace E. Elliott1, Gary D. Foster2, Giuseppe Ianiri4 and Junhyun Jeon5 Abstract The implementation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens as a transformation tool revolutionized approaches to discover and understand gene functions in a large number of fungal species. A. tumefaciens mediated transformation (AtMT) is one of the most transformative technologies for research on fungi developed in the last 20 years, a development arguably only surpassed by the impact of genomics. AtMT has been widely applied in forward genetics, whereby generation of strain libraries using random T-DNA insertional mutagenesis, combined with phenotypic screening, has enabled the genetic basis of many processes to be elucidated. Alternatively, AtMT has been fundamental for reverse genet- ics, where mutant isolates are generated with targeted gene deletions or disruptions, enabling gene functional roles to be determined. When combined with concomitant advances in genomics, both forward and reverse approaches using AtMT have enabled complex fungal phenotypes to be dissected at the molecular and genetic level. Addition- ally, in several cases AtMT has paved the way for the development of new species to act as models for specifc areas of fungal biology, particularly in plant pathogenic ascomycetes and in a number of basidiomycete species. Despite its impact, the implementation of AtMT has been uneven in the fungi. This review provides insight into the dynamics of expansion of new research tools into a large research community and across multiple organisms.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Factors That Contribute to the Maintenance of Cryptococcus Neoformans Pathogenesis
    microorganisms Review Environmental Factors That Contribute to the Maintenance of Cryptococcus neoformans Pathogenesis Maphori Maliehe, Mathope A. Ntoi, Shayanki Lahiri, Olufemi S. Folorunso , Adepemi O. Ogundeji , Carolina H. Pohl and Olihile M. Sebolai * Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, Free State, South Africa; [email protected] (M.M.); [email protected] (M.A.N.); [email protected] (S.L.); [email protected] (O.S.F.); [email protected] (A.O.O.); [email protected] (C.H.P.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +27-(0)51-401-2004 Received: 15 November 2019; Accepted: 11 December 2019; Published: 28 January 2020 Abstract: The ability of microorganisms to colonise and display an intracellular lifestyle within a host body increases their fitness to survive and avoid extinction. This host–pathogen association drives microbial evolution, as such organisms are under selective pressure and can become more pathogenic. Some of these microorganisms can quickly spread through the environment via transmission. The non-transmittable fungal pathogens, such as Cryptococcus, probably return into the environment upon decomposition of the infected host. This review analyses whether re-entry of the pathogen into the environment causes restoration of its non-pathogenic state or whether environmental factors and parameters assist them in maintaining pathogenesis. Cryptococcus (C.) neoformans is therefore used as a model organism to evaluate the impact of environmental stress factors that aid the survival and pathogenesis of C. neoformans intracellularly and extracellularly. Keywords: Cryptococcus; environmental factors; pathogenesis; survival; virulence factors; transcriptional factors; signalling factors 1. Introduction The genus Cryptococcus is defined by basidiomycetous fungi that can transform into a yeast state [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Maternal–Fetal Transmission of Cryptococcus Gattii in Harbor Porpoise
    LETTERS Oral Oncul, Yunus Atalay, Maternal–Fetal www.cdc.gov/EID/content/17/2/302- Yalcin Onem, Vedat Turhan, Ali appF.htm). The fi rst stomach chamber Acar, Yavuz Uyar, Transmission of contained two 3.5 cm × 2.5 cm raised, Dilek Y. Caglayik, Sezai Ozkan, Cryptococcus gattii centrally umbilicated ulcers and sev- and Levent Gorenek in Harbor Porpoise eral embedded anisakid nematodes. Author affi liations: Gulhane Military Medi- The uterus was gravid in the right cal Academy Haydarpasa Training Hospi- To the Editor: We report mater- horn with a mid-term fetus. No other tal, Istanbul, Turkey (O. Oncul, Y. Atalay, nal–fetal transmission of Cryptococ- gross lesions were identifi ed. Micro- Y. Onem, V. Turhan, A. Acar, S. Ozkan, L. cus gattii and death in a wild porpoise. scopically, the lung lesions correlated Gorenek); and Refi k Saydam National Pub- Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gat- with granulomatous to pyogranuloma- lic Health Agency, Ankara, Turkey (Y. Uyar, tii are 2 environmental, encapsulated tous infi ltrates, often with a myriad of D.Y. Caglayik) yeasts that cause invasive, potentially yeasts. life-threatening infections in humans The male fetus (length 30 cm, DOI: 10.3201/eid1702.100663 and animals (1). C. neoformans causes weight 2.4 kg), was examined sepa- disease in immunocompromised hosts, rately at a different facility than the References and C. gattii is also pathogenic in im- dam. It appeared grossly normal ex- 1. Tang YW, Li YL, Ye KL, Xu ZY, Ruo munocompetent hosts (2). Since 1999, ternally and was at a gestation of ≈5–6 SL, Fisher-Hoch SP, et al.
    [Show full text]