title: Seasonal prevalence of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii and Cryptococcus gattii inhabiting Eucalyptus terreticornis and Eucalyptus camaldulensis trees in Jabalpur City of Madhya Pradesh, Central India.
abstract: This study presents a two-year retrospective analysis of the work done during 2003-2005 on the distribution population density and isolation frequency of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii and Cryptococcus gattii recovered from different parts of Eucalyptus tree spp., at Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Of the 1000 samples collected from bark, flowers, fruits, buds and leaves of Eucalyptus trees E. terreticornis and E. camaldulensis, 32 (3.2%) were found to be positive for C.n var. grubii and 28 (2.8%) for C. gattii respectively. While both the pathogens were isolated through all the seasons, no significant difference was found in prevalence of the two species (P>0.05) from different Eucalyptus tree samples. For C. neoformans var. grubii the highest isolation frequency of the pathogen was in spring followed by autumn, summer, winter and rainy season. For C. gattii, highest isolation frequency of the pathogen was in summer, followed by autumn, spring, winter and rainy season. Significant difference was seen in the isolation frequency of C. neoformans var. grubii and C. gattii during autumn and rainy season (P<0.01), spring and rainy season (P<0.001) and summer and rainy season (P<0.001). Population density and isolation frequency of the both pathogens were significantly lower in rainy season. Bark of the Eucalyptus tree yielded the highest frequency of C. neoformans var. grubii followed by flower, fruits, buds and debris. Trees located in the densely populated area of the city yielded highest frequency of the pathogens followed by trees located in sparsely populated area on the outskirt of the city and areas near the river Narmada. Further comprehensive study is suggested to assess the overall impact of seasonal prevalence in the isolation frequency and population density of both the pathogens and their clinical significance across climatically divergent region of India.
authors.affiliation: Medical Mycology Research Laboratory, Department of Biological Science, Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur, 482001 Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Bedi
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Nawange
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Naidu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kavishwar
mesh_terms: D056285:Cryptococcus gattii / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005052:Eucalyptus / Q000382:microbiology*; D035264:Flowers / Q000382:microbiology; D007194:India; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000382:microbiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D013045:Species Specificity; D014197:Trees / Q000382:microbiology; D014504:Urban Health