First report of Cryptococcus albidus septicaemia in an HIV patient

Cryptococcosis which is usually due to Cryptococcus neoformans, is considered as the most dramatic mycosis occurring in immunocompromised patients, in particular in HIV infection. The most common clinical manifestation in these patients is meningitis, even though the infection may have spread to other sites. We wish to report a case in which another species, Cryptococcus albidus, was the aetiological agent of septicaemia in an AIDS patient. This may be the first case of cryptococcaemia due to C. albidus in this context. There are increasing reports of unusual microorganisms causing infections in AIDS patients. C. albidus, which is commonly isolated from the skin of healthy patients as well as indoor or outdoor air, is a rare cause of disease, only eleven cases having been reported. This yeast was isolated from CF, lung abscess, pleural fluid and blood specimens, from immunocompromised, but not HIV patients. There is no explanation yet how humans may develop an infection from C. albidus. It is possible that our patient became infected during implantation of the chamber for perfusions and acquired a classical nosocomial infection. In conclusion, this case suggests that C. albidus must be added to the increasing number of recently described causative agents of fungal infections in HIV patients.