Risk Factors for Cryptococcus gattii Infection, British Columbia, Canada

• Main Authors: Laura MacDougall, Murray Fyfe, Marc Romney, Mike Starr, Eleni Galanis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2011-02-01
• Series: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: Cryptococcus neoformans; Cryptococcus gattii; cryptococcosis; respiratory infection; fungi; parasites
• Online Access: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/2/10-1020_article

To determine whether particular environmental, medical, or behavioral risk factors existed among Cryptcoccus gattii–infected persons compared with the general population, we conducted a sex-matched case−control study on a subset of case-patients in British Columbia (1999–2001). Exposures and underlying medical conditions among all case-patients (1999–2007) were also compared with results of provincial population–based surveys and studies. In case−control analyses, oral steroids (matched odds ratio [MOR] 8.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.74–37.80), pneumonia (MOR 2.71, 95% CI 1.05–6.98), and other lung conditions (MOR 3.21, 95% CI 1.08–9.52) were associated with infection. In population comparisons, case-patients were more likely to be >50 years of age (p<0.001), current smokers (p<0.001), infected with HIV (p<0.001), or have a history of invasive cancer (p<0.001). Although C. gattii is commonly believed to infect persons with apparently healthy immune systems, several immunosuppressive and pulmonary conditions seem to be risk factors.