Molecular types of Cryptococcus species isolated from patients with cryptococcal meningitis in a Brazilian tertiary care hospital

Publication date: Available online 30 November 2018Source: The Brazilian Journal of Infectious DiseasesAuthor(s): Fernanda Wirth, Maria Isabel Azevedo, Luciano Z. GoldaniAbstractThere are limited data on the molecular epidemiology of cryptococcosis in Brazil. Here, we report on the identification of the molecular pattern of the Cryptococcus species that caused meningitis in patients admitted in a Brazilian reference tertiary care hospital, and review the published studies addressing the molecular epidemiology of Cryptococcus in Brazil. Our study has shown the predominance of molecular type VNII in predominantly HIV-infected patients with meningoencephalitis admitted to a tertiary care hospital in the southern area of Brazil. Molecular types VNII and VGII were occasionally detected patients. In Brazil, previous studies have shown that several regions exhibited a high prevalence of the VNI molecular type and sporadic cases of the VNII and VGII molecular types in patients with cryptococcosis. Additional studies of VNII isolates will contribute to understanding the phylogenetic relationship of this genotype compared to the other ones. So far, no clear correlation has been established between genotypes, antifungal susceptibility for Cryptococcus and clinical outcome in cryptococcosis.
Source: The Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research