Cryptococcosis overview
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
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Overview
Cryptococcosis is an infection acquired by inhalation of soil contaminated with the encapsulated yeast (fungus) Cryptococcus neoformans.
Historical Perspective
Cryptococci, initially thought to be of the Saccharomyces genus, were first identified in 1894 by German pathologist Otto Busse in a patient with chronic periostitis of the tibia. In 1901, Jean Paul Vuillemin, a French mycologist, transferred the yeast-like fungus to the genus Cryptococcus due to the absence of ascospores in its life cycle, a defining feature of Saccharomyces.
Classification
Cryptococcosis may be classified based on the site of infection i.e. the clinical syndrome into pulmonary, CNS, or disseminated cryptococcosis. Another approach to the classification involves the species or variety of the cryptococcus causative organism and includes Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus gattii, and other rarer species.