Cryptococcus gattii

Cryptococcus gattii

Cryptococcus gattii Cryptococcus neoformans var gattii or is an infective yeast, which occurs mainly in tropical and subtropical climates. He is a causative agent of cryptococcosis, an opportunistic infection. While a cryptococcosis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans occurs almost exclusively in patients with massive immune deficiency, Cryptococcus gattii is able even in people with an intact immune system to trigger the disease.

Occurrence and mutations

In 1999, he was first detected on the Western Canadian island Vancouver Iceland. He is said to have spread to the Pacific coast of Vancouver Iceland on the mainland in the province of British Columbia between 1999 and 2003. From the year 2005, a mutated variant, VGIIc detected in the northwestern U.S. states of Washington, Idaho and Oregon. In the Pacific Northwest currently spreads (2010) a previously unknown variant with increased mortality from. Researchers led by Joseph Heitman of Duke University in Durham, published in the journal " PLoS Pathogens ", the fungus was in the process to immigrate to California and other adjacent areas. In Southern California, the variant VGIII has been demonstrated in several patients.

Virulence

The fungus has always been dangerous for immuno-compromised patients: the mortality rate is also valued at an adequate antifungal therapy to 10 to 25 percent. The new variant is more virulent and can even healthy people, as well as domesticated animals attack via the respiratory tract, where infected trees - Host plants are usually Eucalyptus camaldulensis and other Eucalyptus species - native spores are inhaled. Cryptococcosis -called disease is difficult to diagnose, but can be by conventional medicines used to treat fungal infections called antifungals to treat based on tablets and infusions. Symptoms include weeks of cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, fevers, weight loss, sweats and headaches.

Origin

The origin of the dangerous variant of the fungus is still unclear. The new type of fungi is propagated asexually and by cell division and may have become genetically recombined with its harmless relatives. Cryptococcus gattii also affects pets, such as dogs, cats and sheep in the nose and respiratory and nervous pain with impairment of lymph nodes suffer from mucus.