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. 2018 Mar 1;4(1):32.
doi: 10.3390/jof4010032.

Cryptococcosis in Colombia: Compilation and Analysis of Data from Laboratory-Based Surveillance

Patricia Escandón  1 , Jairo Lizarazo  2 , Clara Inés Agudelo  3 , Elizabeth Castañeda  4
Affiliations

Cryptococcosis in Colombia: Compilation and Analysis of Data from Laboratory-Based Surveillance

Patricia Escandón et al. J Fungi (Basel). .

Abstract

The passive and voluntary surveillance of cryptococcosis in Colombia since 1997 has seen an increasing participating rate, revealing its importance to both in immunosuppressed and immunocompetent people. The present work details the national data gathered in 1997-2016, through a retrospective analysis of the information collected in the survey. From a total of 1974 cases reported, an overall incidence of 0.23 cases per 100,000 people was found. This incidence rose to 1.1 cases per 1000 people in the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) population. Cryptococcosis was most common in male young adults (26-40 years), with a male:female ratio of 3.9:1 in the general population and 5.4:1 in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients. Culture was the most common form of diagnosis in 96.3% of cases, recovering C. neoformans species in 87.5% and C. gattii in 3.1% of samples. VNI was the most prevalent (96.1%) molecular type, while VGII predominated in C. gattii isolates (54.3%). Early mortality was reported as the outcome in 47.5% of patients. Cryptococcosis remains an important opportunistic disease in Colombia and is gaining status as a primary pathogen in apparently immunocompetent patients. Our findings show the importance of including cryptococcosis as a notifiable disease, which will allow for improving opportune diagnosis and treatment, resulting in better patient outcomes.

Keywords: Colombia; cryptococcosis; epidemiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of cases of cryptococcosis in Colombia by rate and department of residence, 1997–2016.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of patients with cryptococcosis in Colombia, 1997–2016. (A) Distribution by age group and study period. (B) Distribution by gender and study period.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of HIV/AIDS patients with cryptococcosis in Colombia, 1997–2016. (A) Distribution by age group and study period; (B) Distribution by gender and study period.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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