Isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans from Pigeon Excreta in Nakhon Ratchasima College, Nakhon Ratchasima Province
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Abstract
Cryptococcosis is an important opportunistic fungal disease in human. The disease is caused by Cryptococcus neoformans which is commonly found in pigeon droppings. The cryptococcal infection can become life-threatening diseases such as meningitis and pneumonia in human, especially in patient with immunodeficiency. This research aimed to determine the prevalence of C. neoformans from pigeon droppings in the area of Nakhon Ratchasima College, Nakhon Ratchasima province. In this study, 84 samples of pigeon droppings were collected from 11 different areas of the college from June to August 2020. The samples were cultured on the sunflower seed medium supplemented with chloramphenicol. The mucoid colonies with brown color formed on the agar media were examined with India ink preparation and Gram stain followed by the colony identification with urease test and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) determination, respectively. One of 84 pigeon droppings (1.2%) was identified as C. neoformans. This pigeon dropping isolate was collected from the area that had the accumulation of large amount of pigeon droppings. The results suggested that the accumulating area of pigeon droppings can become a potential reservoir of cryptococcal infection. Our data provide useful knowledge applied to propose the policy for prevention and control of cryptococcal infection in this college.
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