Cryptococcus neoformans in bird excreta in the City Zoo of Cali, Colombia

The presence of Cryptococcus neoformans was studied in bird excreta and in the air circulating in and around bird cages in the City Zoo of Cali, Colom bia, between August 1994 and April 1995, using a sunflower seed agar cultur e medium for fungus isolation. A total of 380 samples was studied, 110 from droppings and 270 from Petri dishes placed inside (148) and outside (122) the cages. C. neoformans var neoformans was found in only two cases, one fr om bird excreta (0.9%) and the other from air inside a cage (0.7%). The for mer positive sample was collected from the cracks of a dead tree where two crested caracaras (Polyborus plancus) roosted; the feces were dry, accumula ted, and with a pH of 6. The other positive sample was found inside the cag e of these birds; however, samples taken in a dispersion study at 0.5, 1, 5 and 10 m around this cage were all negative. It appears that this low isol ation rate is due to adequate cleaning and disinfection procedures used in the city zoo of Cali.