FIRST IDENTIFICATION OF AUTOCHTHONOUS CRYPTOCOCCUS-NEOFORMANS VAR. GATTII ISOLATED FROM GOATS WITH PREDOMINANTLY SEVERE PULMONARY-DISEASE IN SPAIN

Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii is associated with Eucalyptus tree s growing in various tropical and subtropical regions of the world, Th e identification of 13 autochthonous strains of C. neoformans var. gat tii in Spain is reported, These strains were isolated from lung (10 sa mples), liver (1 sample), and brain (2 samples) tissue specimens from six goats suffering from predominantly severe pulmonary disease that w ere autopsied, The animals were members of five different herds of goa ts grazing in rural areas of the province of Caceres (Extremadura, Spa in), Between 1990 and 1994, there were five outbreaks, in which betwee n 2.5 and 12% of the goats were affected. Although respiratory symptom s (pneumonia) associated with cachexia were the predominant clinical p icture in all outbreaks, brain and liver involvement was also document ed in three of the five outbreaks. Biotyping was performed by culturin g the isolates on L-canavanine-glycine-bromothymol blue medium and tes ting them for the assimilation of D-proline and D-tryptophan, Serotypi ng by agglutination tests confirmed the characterization of all strain s as C. neoformans var, gattii serotype B. This is the first confirmat ion of the presence of this variety in Spain, with a peculiar ability to produce severe pulmonary and systemic disease in normal goats, part icularly in the form of outbreaks of pneumonia in association with cac hexia.