Isolation of Cryptococcus species including C. neoformans from cloaca of pigeons.
Upper digestive tract of the pigeon (Columba livia) is well known as a reservoir for different species of Cryptococcus, but lower portions are not so frequently studied. In the present study, we tested on selective media a total of 331 pigeon cloacal swabs; Cryptococcus spp. were recovered from 26 (7.85%). Cryptococcus uniguttulatus was isolated from 11 samples (3.32%), C. laurentii from six (1.81%), C. neoformans var. neoformans from six (1.81%) and C. albidus from three of them (0.91%). The results show the importance of pigeon in the cryptococcosis epidemiology as reservoir and carrier for C. neoformans var. neoformans, but also for other Cryptococcus species of increasing clinical interest.
Rosario
I
I
Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arucas-Las, Plamas-España, Spain. inma.rosa@colvet.es
Hermoso de Mendoza
M
M
Déniz
S
S
Soro
G
G
Alamo
I
I
Acosta
B
B
D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D002353:Carrier State / Q000662:veterinary; D002988:Cloaca / Q000382:microbiology*; D010856:Columbidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003454:Cryptococcus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology