Abstract
Cryptococcosis is one of the most serious fungal diseases of animals worldwide, affecting a wide variety of mammals (including humans) and, occasionally, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
The disease is caused by pathogenic members of the encapsulated, melanin-forming, basidiomycetous yeast genus Cryptococcus, namely, Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii species complexes. These two species have different ecological niches across climate zones: C. neoformans has been isolated primarily from soil and avian excrement, whereas C. gattii is mainlyK. Singh
Department of Zoology, Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India e-mail: karunasingh5@gmail.com
M. Ilkit
Division of Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Qtkurova, Adana, Turkey
e-mail: macitilkit@gmail.com
T. Shokohi
Invasive Fungi Research Center (IFRC), and Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran e-mail: shokohi.tahereh@gmail.com
A. Tolooe
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center of Expertise in Microbiology, Infection
Biology and Antimicrobial Pharmacology, Tehran, Iran
e-mail: atolooe@gmail.com
R. Malik
Centre for Veterinary Education, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
e-mail: richard.malik@sydney.edu.au
S. Seyedmousavi (*)
Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology (LCIM), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA e-mail: Seyedmousavi@nih.gov; S.Seyedmousavi@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 249
S. Seyedmousavi et al. (eds.), Emerging and Epizootic Fungal Infections in Animals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72093-7_12
associated with decaying wood and other plant materials, particularly in and around various species of trees. Cryptococcosis, which appears to be acquired by the inhalation of yeasts from environmental niches and penetration into the sinonasal cavity (animals) or pulmonary alveoli (humans) of the host, followed by hematogenous dissemination (humans) or penetration of the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bones (many animals), often manifests as skin and soft tissue infections, rhinosinusitis, pneumonia, and meningoencephalitis. Animals and people may become infected via the same environmental source; however, no convincing mammal-to-mammal transmission has been documented to date. This chapter highlights the diseases and complications that Cryptococcus species may cause in invertebrates, cold- and warm-blooded animals, marine mammals, and nonhuman primates. The potential role of animal hosts as sentinels of human cryptococcosis is discussed.
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