Survey ofCryptococcus neoformansin the respiratory tract of patients with bronchopulmonary disorders and in the air

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Abstract
C. neoformans was cultured from 9 (1%) of 835 clinical specimens examined from the respiratory tract of patients. These isolations came from 3 (0.4%) of the 760 patients; 8 isolates were from sputum and 1 from urine. The fungus was not demonstrable in the air at a selected site during a 2-yr study although other Cryptococcus species (C. albidus, C. ater, C. flavus, C. laurentii, C. magnus, C. terreus and C. uniguttulatus) were isolated. The 3 C. neoformans-positive patients were males, with pulmonary tuberculosis are the primary disease and history of repeated exposure to pigeon excreta in 2. No patients manifested any overt signs and symptoms specifically attributable to cryptococcosis, nor did they receive any antifungal therapy. Repeated isolations of C. neoformans from sputum, a positive urine culture and demonstration of cryptococcal antibodies in a serum specimen, followed by negative cultures and serology, suggested that patient 1 spontaneously recovered from an episode of benign, minimal pulmonary cryptococcosis. Patients 2 and 3 probably carried the fungus as a transient resident of the respiratory tract. C. neoformans is uncommon in the respiratory tract of patients with bronchopulmonary disorders and isolation of the fungus from this site may not necessarily imply an etiologic relationship.