Cryptococcus gattii
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Cryptococcus gattii |
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| ( Vanbreus. & Takashio ) Kwon-Chung & Boekhout |
Cryptococcus gattii or Cryptococcus neoformans var gattii is an infectious yeast thatoccursprimarily in tropical and subtropical climates. It is a causative agent of cryptococcosis , an opportunistic infection . Whilecryptococcosis causedby Cryptococcus neoformans occursalmost exclusively in patients with massive immunodeficiency , Cryptococcus gattii can alsotrigger the diseasein people with an intact immune system .
Occurrence and mutations
In 1999 it was first detected on the western Canadian island of Vancouver Island . Between 1999 and 2003 it is said to have spread on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island on the mainland in the province of British Columbia . As of 2005, a mutated variant, VGIIc, was detected in the northwestern US states of Washington , Idaho and Oregon . In the north-west of the USA, a previously unknown variant with increased lethality is currently (2010) spreading . Researchers led by Joseph Heitman from Duke University in Durham published in the journal " PLoS Pathogens" that the fungus is about to immigrate to California and other neighboring areas. In Southern California, variant VGIII was detected in several patients.
virulence
The fungus has always been dangerous for immunocompromised patients: the mortality rate is estimated at 10 to 25 percent , even with adequate antifungal therapy. The new variant is even more virulent and can also attack healthy people and domesticated animals via the respiratory tract, whereby spores from infected trees - host plants are usually Eucalyptus camaldulensis and other eucalyptus species - are inhaled. The disease called cryptococcosis is difficult to diagnose, but it can be treated with conventional drugs for the treatment of fungal infections, so-called antimycotics , based on tablets and infusions. Symptoms include weeks of coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, feverish fits, weight loss, sweats, and headaches.
origin
The origin of the dangerous variant of the fungus is still unclear. The new type of fungus reproduces asexually and through cell division and may have genetically recombined with its more harmless relatives. Cryptococcus gattii also affects domestic animals such as dogs, cats and sheep, which suffer from mucus build-up in the nose, as well as respiratory and nerve pain with impairment of the lymph nodes .
Web links
- University of British Columbia
- Joseph Heitman of Duke University in Durham in the journal PLoS Pathogens
- Article by first author Edmond Byrnes
- Karen Bartlett , mycologist at the University of British Columbia
Individual evidence
- ↑ Focus online: "Deadly fungal infection is spreading", article from April 23, 2010 , accessed on April 24, 2010.
- ↑ Spiegel.de "Dangerous fungus is spreading in Oregon" .
- ^ Li, SS et al .: Cryptococcus . In: Proc Am Thorac Soc . 7, No. 3, 2010, pp. 186-196. PMID 20463247 .
- ↑ Cryptococcus gattii Information Home Page . Cryptococcus Gattii Information Homepage. Archived from the original on May 31, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
- ↑ Mycology Online: Cryptococcus gattii . Mycology Online. Archived from the original on February 21, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
- ↑ Dangerous yeast . Image of science . April 23, 2010. Accessed September 9, 2019.
