cryptococcosis
Sign in to saveAlso known as Busse-Buschke's disease, European cryptococcosis, torula, torulosis, cryptococcal infection, cryptococcus neoformans infection, Cryptococcosis、Cryptococcal disease
Cryptococcosis is a potentially fatal fungal infection of mainly the lungs, presenting as a pneumonia, and in the brain, where it appears as a meningitis. Coughing, difficulty breathing, chest pain and fever are seen when the lungs are infected. When the brain is infected, symptoms include headache, fever, neck pain, nausea and vomiting, light sensitivity and confusion or changes in behavior. It can also affect other parts of the body including skin, where it may appear as several fluid-filled nodules with dead tissue.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Cryptococcosis
- Medical condition (new).image
- Cryptococcus.jpg
- Medical condition (new).synonyms
- Busse-Buschke disease, cryptococcic meningitis, cryptococcosis lung, cryptococcosis skin, European Blastomycosis, torular meningitis, torulosis
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Micrograph of cryptococcosis showing the characteristically thick capsule of cryptococcus. Field stain.
- Medical condition (new).field
- Infectious disease
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Lung: Cough, difficulty breathing, chest pain and fever. Brain: Headache, fever, neck pain, nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, confusion, change in behaviour. Skin: Nodules with dead tissue.
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus gattii
- Medical condition (new).risks
- HIV/AIDS, Aviculture
- Medical condition (new).diagnosis
- Biopsy, culture
- Medical condition (new).treatment
- Antifungal medication
- Medical condition (new).medication
- Fluconazole Amphotericin B Flucytosine
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
12,937 papers- Cryptococcosis.Infectious disease clinics of North America · 2016
- Cryptococcosis.Medical mycology journal · 2025
- Cryptococcosis.Infectious disease clinics of North America · 2025
- Pulmonary cryptococcosis: A review of pathobiology and clinical aspects.Medical mycology · 2019
- Cryptococcosis in Africa: What the data tell us.Medical mycology · 2023
via PubMed
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
17 sectionsContents
- Classification
- Signs and symptoms
- Cause
- Primary cutaneous cryptococcosis
- Pulmonary cryptococcosis
- Cryptococcal meningitis
- Diagnosis
- Prevention
- Treatment
- IRIS
- Epidemiology
- In the United States
- In sub-Saharan Africa
- Other animals
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Cryptococcosis is a potentially fatal fungal infection of mainly the lungs, presenting as a pneumonia, and in the brain, where it appears as a meningitis. Coughing, difficulty breathing, chest pain and fever are seen when the lungs are infected. When the brain is infected, symptoms include headache, fever, neck pain, nausea and vomiting, light sensitivity and confusion or changes in behavior. It can also affect other parts of the body including skin, where it may appear as several fluid-filled nodules with dead tissue.
It is caused by the fungi Cryptococcus neoformans or less commonly Cryptococcus gattii, and is acquired by breathing in the spores from the air. These fungi are found globally in soil, decaying wood, pigeon droppings, and in the hollows of some species of trees. Whereas C. neoformans generally infects people with HIV/AIDS and those on immunosuppressant drugs and does not usually affect fit and healthy people, C. gattii (found in some parts of Canada and the US) does. Once breathed in, the dried yeast cells colonize the lungs, where they are either cleared by immune cells, lie dormant, or cause infection and spread.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “cryptococcosis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.