Prevalence and antifungal susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans isolated from pigeon excreta in Chon Buri Province, Eastern Thailand.

The prevalence of cerebral meningitis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans in HIV-infected patients in Eastern Thailand is high. However, little is known about the occurrence of this pathogenic yeast in the environment of this region.  The aim of our study was to characterize the prevalence of C. neoformans, its serotypes and antifungal drug susceptibilities in environmental isolates from Chon Buri, Eastern Thailand.  C. neoformans was isolated from 10% of fifty pigeon excreta examined from this province. All C. neoformans isolates were of serotype A and although the isolates displayed slightly decreased susceptibility towards fluconazole, all tested sensitive to amphotericin B, fluconazole and itraconazole. This study is the first report of the occurrence of C. neoformans in pigeon excreta in eastern Thailand.