Inaugural Conference - June 2002

ISOLATION OF CRYPTOCOCCUS NEOFORMANS FROM FERAL PIGEON (COLUMBA LIVIA) ROOSTS IN AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

A.P. Focker1, J.T. Lumeij1, D. Houwers2, and J.H. van Wijnen3

  1. Division of Avian and Exotic Animal Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 8, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands
  2. Veterinary Microbiological Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Infectious Diseases Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
  3. Environmental Medicine Department, Division Public Health and Environment, GGGD Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Systemic cryptococcosis is the fourth most common cause of death in AIDS patients, with infection rates ranging from 5-10% in AIDS patients in the United States and Western Europe Cryptococcosis is the most common life-threatening fungal infection in human-immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected individuals, and a contributing cause of death in patients with Hodgkin's Disease, leukemia or diabetes and in patients treated with immunosuppressive drugs and steroids. Healthy pregnant women have been shown to have an increased risk for cryptococcosis. Meningitis and to a lesser extent pneumonia are the most frequent life-threatening manifestations of cryptococcosis. There have been many world-wide reports on the varying prevalence of C. neoformans in bird droppings and droppings from feral pigeons have been reported to be an important source for human infections. So far no studies in relation to the prevalence of Cryptococcus in avian faeces have been performed in the Netherlands.
In this study performed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 4 out of 21 (95% confidence interval 5-42%) fecal samples collected from feral pigeon roosting sites were positive for Cryptococcus neoformans. At least 7% (probability 95%) of pigeon roosts are positive for C. neoformans. These findings confirm the possible epidemiological significance of pigeon droppings for human cryptococcosis under Netherlands circumstances. Maltose Agar incubated at 37°C proved to be the best means of isolation.

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