High prevalence of Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii in tropical and subtropical regions.

The global distribution of 96 clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii among a total of 725 C. neoformans isolates was investigated. While C. neoformans var. gattii was not found among isolates obtained from Europe (excluding the United Kingdom) and Japan; and it was found only infrequently in North America (excluding Southern California), the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Argentina; the variety was prevalent in regions with tropical to subtropical climates such as South East Asia, Southern California, Brazil, Mid to South Pacific, and the central part of Africa. Among the isolates of C. neoformans var. gattii in our collection, serotype B predominanted (77 of 96), and the serotype C isolates were almost exclusively from North America.