Cutaneous lesions of disseminated cryptococcosis as the presenting manifestation of human immunodeficiency virus infection in a twenty-two-month old child

We report the case of a 22-month-old African boy with cutaneous lesions as the predominant feature of disseminated cryptococcosis (positive blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures) and as the presenting manifestation of severe vertically acquired HIV infection (CDC C3 category). To our knowledge thes e cutaneous lesions have never been reported as the initial manifestation o f AIDS in children.