Coinfecções no contexto da criptococose: levantamento de estudos clínicos eexperimentais

Abstract

Cryptococcosis is a disease caused mainly by two species of fungi belonging to the genus Cryptococcus, Cryptococcus neoformans and gattii. Cryptococcus neoformans is isolated in pigeon dropping, since Cryptococcus gattii, for the most part, is found in decomposing tree trunks, both species have a worldwide distribution. The transmission of the disease is by inhalation of dried yeast or spores found in nature.The success of the infection is dependent on intrinsic characteristics of the microorganism and the host. Thus, cryptococcosis is widely reported in cases of immunosuppression of patients, but now is known that healthy individuals may also acquire the disease. The infection may be asymptomatic or symptomatic. The asymptomatic infection is often present on individuals imunocompetents and the symptomatic infection may present from simple pneumonia to severe meningoencephalitis. The easy transmission of the fungus plus its ability to infect both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed individuals draw attention tocoinfections with other microorganisms. Clinical case studies reveal that such association is common in the population and, increasingly, may favor the worsening of the disease leading to death. However, lack of diagnosis and knowledge of coinfections make it impossible to elaborate specific epidemiological data about the disease. Thus, studies that address the context of coinfections during cryptococcosis open the horizon for the understanding of this interaction, leading to a reduction inthe number of registered cases of the disease.