RT Book, Section
A1 Lehman, Deborah
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 7028972
T1 Chapter 299. Cryptococcosis
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=7028972
RD 2024/04/25
AB Cryptococcosis  is  a  sporadic,  cosmopolitan  mycotic  disease  caused  by  the  yeastlike  fungus  Cryptococcus  neoformans  and  its  variant,  Cryptococcus  neoformans  gattii.Cryptococcus  species  reproduce  by  budding  and  vary  from  4  to  20  μm  in  diameter.  The  fungus  is  surrounded  by  a  mucopolysaccharide  capsule  that  aids  in  its  identification  in  body  fluids  and  tissues.  Of  the  more  than  30  species  in  the  genus  Cryptococcus,  C  neoformans  and  C  gattii  are  the  pathogenic  yeasts  of  cryptococcosis.  Both  species  cause  similar  clinical  manifestations,  primarily  in  the  lung  and  central  nervous  system.  C  neoformans  is  most  responsible  for  infection  in  immunocompromised  individuals  and  occurs  worldwide.  C  gattii  more  commonly  infects  immunocompetent  hosts.  C  gattii  was  originally  thought  to  be  limited  to  tropical  and  subtropical  regions,  but  a  recent  outbreak  of  C  gattii  on  Vancouver  Island  in  Canada  demonstrated  a  wider  distribution.1