Cryptococcus gattii: An Emerging Cause of Fungal Disease in North America

During the latter half of the twentieth century, fungal pathogens such as Cryptococcus neoformans were increasingly recognized as a significant threat to the health of immune compromised populations throughout the world. Until recently, the closely related species C. gattii was considered to be a lo...

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Main Authors: Ashwin Dixit, Scott F. Carroll, Salman T. Qureshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2009-01-01
Series:Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/840452
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author Ashwin Dixit
Scott F. Carroll
Salman T. Qureshi
author_facet Ashwin Dixit
Scott F. Carroll
Salman T. Qureshi
author_sort Ashwin Dixit
collection DOAJ
description During the latter half of the twentieth century, fungal pathogens such as Cryptococcus neoformans were increasingly recognized as a significant threat to the health of immune compromised populations throughout the world. Until recently, the closely related species C. gattii was considered to be a low-level endemic pathogen that was confined to tropical regions such as Australia. Since 1999, C. gattii has emerged in the Pacific Northwest region of North America and has been responsible for a large disease epidemic among generally healthy individuals. The changing epidemiology of C. gattii infection is likely to be a consequence of alterations in fungal ecology and biology and illustrates its potential to cause serious human disease. This review summarizes selected biological and clinical aspects of C. gattii that are particularly relevant to the recent North American outbreak and compares these to the Australian and South American experience.
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spelling doaj-art-07a94920355947d89a71e4cdf1ed52ba2025-08-20T03:55:28ZengWileyInterdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases1687-708X1687-70982009-01-01200910.1155/2009/840452840452Cryptococcus gattii: An Emerging Cause of Fungal Disease in North AmericaAshwin Dixit0Scott F. Carroll1Salman T. Qureshi2Centre for the Study of Host Resistance, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1A4, CanadaCentre for the Study of Host Resistance, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1A4, CanadaCentre for the Study of Host Resistance, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1A4, CanadaDuring the latter half of the twentieth century, fungal pathogens such as Cryptococcus neoformans were increasingly recognized as a significant threat to the health of immune compromised populations throughout the world. Until recently, the closely related species C. gattii was considered to be a low-level endemic pathogen that was confined to tropical regions such as Australia. Since 1999, C. gattii has emerged in the Pacific Northwest region of North America and has been responsible for a large disease epidemic among generally healthy individuals. The changing epidemiology of C. gattii infection is likely to be a consequence of alterations in fungal ecology and biology and illustrates its potential to cause serious human disease. This review summarizes selected biological and clinical aspects of C. gattii that are particularly relevant to the recent North American outbreak and compares these to the Australian and South American experience.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/840452
spellingShingle Ashwin Dixit
Scott F. Carroll
Salman T. Qureshi
Cryptococcus gattii: An Emerging Cause of Fungal Disease in North America
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases
title Cryptococcus gattii: An Emerging Cause of Fungal Disease in North America
title_full Cryptococcus gattii: An Emerging Cause of Fungal Disease in North America
title_fullStr Cryptococcus gattii: An Emerging Cause of Fungal Disease in North America
title_full_unstemmed Cryptococcus gattii: An Emerging Cause of Fungal Disease in North America
title_short Cryptococcus gattii: An Emerging Cause of Fungal Disease in North America
title_sort cryptococcus gattii an emerging cause of fungal disease in north america
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/840452
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