http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24962111

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Mycopathologia. 2014 Jun 25. [Epub ahead of print]
Ferrets as Sentinels of the Presence of Pathogenic Cryptococcus Species
in the Mediterranean Environment.

Morera N1, Hagen F, Juan-Salles C, Artigas C, Patricio R, Serra JI,
Colom MF.

Abstract
Cryptococcus gattii is a pathogenic environmental yeast that is
considered to be emerging in different areas of the world including the
Mediterranean Basin. Exposure to infection might be more likely in
animals than in human beings, given their closer relationship with the
natural habitat of the yeast, vegetation and soil. Thus, animals, and
especially pets, can act as indicators of the presence of this yeast in
a determined area. Domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) have become
common pets in the past 10-20 years. Their natural behavior of sniffing
around and going inside narrow spaces makes them prone to contact with
decaying organic matter and soil, the substrate for Cryptococcus
species. This study describes two cases of cryptococcosis in ferrets in
the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands and documents a relationship
of ferretcryptococcosis with environmental isolates in the same
locations. Here, we emphasize the importance of how an adequate
identification and environmental search of the yeast leads to a better
understanding of the epidemiology of cryptococcosis and suggests
ferrets may act as sentinels for this fungal disease.

PMID: 24962111 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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