Relationship of Cryptococcus Neoformans to Pigeons in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Abstract

A SEARCH for Blastomyces der¬ matitidis and other human pathogenic fungi in pigeon excreta, information was ob¬ tained on the prevalence and dispersal of Cryptococcus neoformans in the Milwaukee, Wis., region.Since the demonstration by Emmons (1) of the close association between pigeon droppings and C. neoformans, results of numerous studies on the isolation of 0. neoformans from this sub- stratum have been published.B. dermatitidis, however, has not been isolated from pigeon ex¬ creta.On the other hand, to our knowledge, the intravenous mouse isolation technique has not been used to assay materials from pigeon habitats in a large-scale investigation.The investigation reported here seemed justi- fied because the intravenous mouse isolation technique was used to assay numerous samples collected in or near a large city which is located in an area where B. dermatitidis is known to be endemic (2,3).Furthermore, many patients