Cryptococcus gattii

Cryptococcus gattii, formerly known as Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii, is an encapsulated yeast found primarily in tropical and subtropical climates. Its teleomorph is Filobasidiella bacillispora, a filamentous fungus belonging to the class Tremellomycetes. C. gattii is one of two organisms causing the infectious disease cryptococcosis (along with C. neoformans). Clinical manifestations of C. gattii infection include pulmonary cryptococcosis (lung infection), basal meningitis, and cerebral cryptococcomas. Occasionally, the fungus is associated with skin, soft tissue, lymph node, bone, and joint infections. In recent years, it has appeared in British Columbia, Canada and the Pacific Northwest. It has been suggested that tsunamis, such as the 1964 Alaska earthquake and tsunami, might have been responsible for carrying the fungus to North America and its subsequent spread there. From 1999 through to early 2008, 216 people in British Columbia have been infected with C. gattii, and eig......read more on Wikipedia.