A Case Report of Feline Cryptococcosis Diagnosed by Cerebrospinal Fluid Analysis

Abstract

Cryptococcosis is an infectious, cutaneous and/or systemic, chronic fungal disease with global distribution, caused by fungi of Cryptococcus genus that can infect humans and domestic animals, including felines. Two species of the genus Cryptococcus are involved in the disease in cats, Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. The C. gattii, in addition to affecting immunosuppressed hosts, can also cause disease in immunocompetent individuals. This report presents the clinical findings of a case of pneumonia, ocular and neurological alterations in a three-year-old male, mixed-breed feline due to Cryptococcus neoformans with diagnosis confirmed through analysis of cerebrospinal fluid with identification of the fungus using the Indian ink dye and its cultivation and growth in Sabouraud dextrose agar from a sample of cerebrospinal fluid.