| Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic pathogen that affects both patients with immunodeficiency and healthy patients. The AIDS epidemic has indicated the importance of studying the ecology and epidemiology of this fungus. The aimed of this investigation was to determine if there was a in Colombia relation between the environmental distribution of the different varieties of C. neoformans and the thermal floors in two transects located in this country, in the department of Cundinamarca. For the isolation and identification of the yeast, conventional phenotypic methods were used and it population density (UFC/g of sample) was determined and which was the variety of greater prevalence in each altitudinal rank. A total of 765 samples, from 26 municipalities were collected; of these 146 they corresponded to pigeon excrements (Columba livia), 437 to detritus of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis and related species) and 182 to detritus of almond trees (Terminalia catapa). C. neoformans was isolated from 46% of the studied municipalities, in both transects and from the thermal floors warm, tempering and cold. The results indicated that the greater frequency of positive isolations came from this last floor. The population density in pigeon excrements oscillated between 50 and 9.2 x 106, in eucalyptus between 50 and 1 x 107 and almonds tree was 50 UFC/g. Of 104 positive isolations 31% were serotype A, 59% serotype B and 10% serotype C. The 96% of the isolations grew to 37°C and all produced capsule. In conclusion, C. neoformans prevails in the three habitats studied but it showed a predilection for the cold thermal floor; the population densities did not allow defining a standard pattern of occurrence. |
