Cryptococcosis historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Serge Korjian M.D.; Yazan Daaboul, M.D.

Cryptococci, initially thought to be of the Saccharomyces genus, were first identified in 1894 by German pathologist Otto Busse in a patient with chronic periostitis of the tibia. In 1901, Jean Paul Vuillemin, a French mycologist, moved the yeast-like fungus to the genus Cryptococcus due to the absence of ascospores in its life cycle, a defining feature of Saccharomyces.

• Cryptococci were first identified in 1894 by German pathologist Otto Busse in a patient with chronic periostitis of the tibia. He described the isolated organism as a “Saccharomyces-like” pathogen.^[1]
• The infection was referred to as “Busse-Buschke” disease named after Busse and his colleague, dermatologist Abraham Buschke.^[2]
• Busse later named the organism Saccharomyces hominis.
• During the same time period, Francesco Sanfelice reported isolating a similar organism from fermenting peach juice. Because of its unique colony form, he referred to the species as Saccharomyces neoformans.
• In 1901, Jean Paul Vuillemin, a French mycologist, transferred the yeast-like fungus to the genus Cryptococcus due to the absence of ascospores in its life cycle, a defining feature of Saccharomyces.^[3]
• In the 1950s, four capsule serotypes (A through D) were identified using rabbit antisera. This classification was later improved by DNA sequencing, epidemiology, and pathobiology.^[1][4]
• Until 1999, Cryptococcus gattii was known as Cryptococcus neoformans var gattii, until it was recognized as separate species with distinct epidemiological patterns and clinical manifestations.^[5]