Environmental study ofCryptococcus neoformans in and around Adana, Turkey

Fungal diseases affecting humans generally originate from the environment. Due to the rising of in human fungal infections in recent years, it is now extremely significant to know more about ecology in order to control fungal pathogens. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence ofCryptococcus neoformans in its well-known ecological niches in eight different locations, in Cukurova region, Turkey. For this purpose, for a total of 1835, 1508 vegetable material from tree of the genusEucalyptus trees, 119 pigeon droppings and 208 soil samples were examined for the presence of yeast in a nigerseed mediumCryptococcus spp. was not recovered from any of these samples. We believe that in our region there are elements affecting the life cycle ofCryptococcus neoformans, such as alkaline pH and high carbon ratio of the soil.