August 7th, 2013
Cost Effectiveness of Cryptococcal Antigen Screening as a Strategy to Prevent HIV-Associated Cryptococcal Meningitis in South Africa

March 5th 2013
Highlights of the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) conference. Atlanta, GA, March 3-6 2013

Poster:  ART Initiation within the First 2 Weeks of Cryptococcal Meningitis Is Associated with Higher Mortality: A Multisite Randomized Trial

Poster: Early ART after Cryptococcal Meningitis Increases Cerebrospinal Fluid Macrophage Activation and Aberrant Th2 Responses in a Multisite Randomized Trial

Poster: Ex vivo Interferon Gamma Release Assay Responses to Cryptococcal Capsule Antigen Predict Outcomes of Death or Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome after Cryptococcal Meningitis

Poster:  No Association of Cryptococcal Antigenemia with Death or Loss to Follow Up among HIV Patients: Ethiopia

Poster: Performance of the Cryptococcal Antigen Lateral Flow Assay as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Tool for Cryptococcal Meningitis

Poster: Pichia Secretory Protein Exhibits Antifungal and Antibiofilm Activity against Candida and Cryptococcus, the Most Common Fungal Pathogens in HIV Patients

Poster : Prevalence of Fluconazole Resistance in Cryptococcus neoformans Isolates from HIV+ Patients in Kampala, Uganda

April 16th, 2013

Alemu. A., S., Kempker. R., R., Tenna. A., et al.

High Prevalence of cryptococcal Antigenemia among HIV-infected Patients Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy in Ethiopia

Andama. A., O., S. den Boon. S. et al.

Prevalence and Outcomes of Cryptococcal Antigenemia in HIV-seropositive Patients Hospitalized for Suspected Tuberculosis in Uganda

Meyer. A. -C., Kendi. C., K. et al.

The impact of routine cryptococcal antigen screening on survival among HIV-infected individuals with advanced immunosuppression in Kenya

January 25th, 2013

McMullan BJ, Halliday C, Sorrell TC, et al.

Clinical Utility of the Cryptococcal Antigen Lateral Flow Assay in a Diagnostic Mycology Laboratory

Binnicker MJ, Jespersen DJ, Bestrom JE, Rollins LO.

Comparison of four assays for the detection of cryptococcal antigen

Hansen J, Slechta ES, Gates-Hollingsworth MA, et al.

Large Scale Eval of Immuno-Mycologics Inc (IMMY) LFA for detection of Crypto Antigen in Serum and CSF

December 20th, 2012

New Southern African Society Cryptococcal Treatment Guidelines

Cryptococcal Screening Algorithm (December 2012)

African Society for Laboratory Medicine

Meya, D.,  Boulware,D.  (2012 ). Cryptococcal Antigen Screening: Perspectives from Uganda 
Govender, N.,P (2012). Cryptococcosis: Preventing a Deadly Fungal Disease Together.
Bauman, (2012) A Simple Method to Diagnose Cryptococcosis: CrAg LFA.
Graeme, M. ( 2012).  Treatment of Cryptococcal Meningitis  

Reconsidering Cryptococcal Antigen Screening in the U.S. among persons with CD4<100 cells/mcL

December 20th, 2012
African Society for Laboratory Medicine

Meya, D.,  Boulware,D.  (2012 ). Cryptococcal Antigen Screening: Perspectives from Uganda 
Govender, N.,P (2012). Cryptococcosis: Preventing a Deadly Fungal Disease Together.
Bauman, (2012) A Simple Method to Diagnose Cryptococcosis: CrAg LFA.
Graeme, M. ( 2012).  Treatment of Cryptococcal Meningitis 

December 8th, 2012

Govender, N., P., et al. South Africa Medical Journal Editorial, Dec. 2012.

Phased Implementation of Screening for Cryptococcal Disease in South Africa

National Institute for Communicable Diseases -Monthly Surveillance Report

Laboratory Based Screening for Cryptococcal Diseases

South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases -NHLS Communiqué November 2012

Cryptococcal Screening Update

November 15, 2012

Highlights of the IDWeek 2012 Meeting – ”Advancing science, Improving care, San Francisco. Oct. 17-21, 2012.”

Oral: Invasion of the central nervous system by Cryptococcus neoformans requires a secreted fungal metalloprotease
Oral: Neurocognitive outcomes of cryptococcal meningitis in HIV-infected Ugandans
Poster : Customized Induction Therapy for the Treatment of Cryptococcal Meningitis Based on Initial Fungal Burden
Poster: Fluconazole resistance in cryptococcus neoformans: an emerging threat to the immune-compromised
Poster: Intraocular Pressure as a Non-Invasive Predictor for Increased Intracranial Pressure in Persons with Suspected or Confirmed Cryptococcal
Poster: Opportunistic Infections in Filipino HIV Patients
Poster: Outcomes of cryptococcal meningitis in HIV-infected patients at Chiang Mai University Hospital, Thailand
Poster: Test performance of a novel lateral-flow assay to detect Cryptococcal disease

For detailed conference information Click here

November 8, 2012

Highlights of the 52nd  International Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Infectious Diseases  (ICAAC), San Francisco. Sept. 9-12, 2012, click here

Section: Cryptococcal  Meningitis in Patients with AIDS: Clinical Experience in Tertiary care Teaching Hospital of Panama
Section: Prevalence of Cryptococcal Antigenemia and Cost Effectiveness of Cryptococcal Screening in Vietnam
Section:  An Evaluation of Four Commercial Assays for the Detection of Cryptococcal Antigen
Section: Neurological, Visual, And MRI Brain Scan Findings in 87 South African Patients With HIV-associated Cryptococcal Meningeoencephalitis
Section: Multicenter Evaluation of Novel POC Assay for the Detection of Cryptococcal Antigen in HIV-Infected persons

For the full list of abstracts click here

November 1, 2012

Cryptococcal Disease and the new PEPFAR Technical Considerations:
Cryptococcal disease has recently been included in the Technical Considerations Provided by PEPFAR Technical Working Groups for FY 2013 COPS and ROPS, October 2012 (page 96,98 and 105). The Screening and treatment to prevent Cryptococcal Meningitis (CM) intervention (or approach) is now listed among the recommended Care and Support Services with supporting evidence of potential public health impact, particularly regarding morbidity and mortality.

For detailed information also available on the PEPFAR website:  click here

October 28, 2012

The Antifungal Therapeutic effects of Sertraline in HIV-infected adults with Cryptococcal Meningitis:  click here
Reconsidering Cryptococcal Antigen Screening in the U.S. among persons with CD4<100 cells/mcL: c lick Here

August 1, 2012
Highlights from the 2012 International AIDS Conference, Washington D.C.,  July 22-27

Session: Preventing Deaths from Cryptoccocal Meningitis: The South African Cryptococcal Screening Program
Session:
New Strategies to Prevent Deaths from Cryptococcal Disease: A Workshop to Introduce New WHO Guidelines, New Rapid Dipstick Point-of-Care Testing, and New Strategies to Screen and Treat for Cryptococcosis
Oral:
Cost benefit of integrating cryptococcal antigen screening and preemptive treatment into routine HIV care
Poster:
The performance of serum cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) latex agglutination testing for diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis (CM): a systematic review
Poster:
Cost-effectiveness of cryptococcal meningitis treatment strategies in resource-limited settings
Poster:
The role of lumbar puncture in the management of asymptomatic cryptococcemia prior to antiretroviral therapy initiation

For detailed conference information click here

June 12, 2012

Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrFriedenCDC) Tweeted about cryptococcal infection

[column size=”1-5″ last=”0″ style=”0″][/column][column size=”4-5″ last=”1″ style=”0″][quote style=”1″]Exciting progress diagnosing cryptococcal infection, fungus kills 500K/yr in Africa. Many of these deaths preventable. go.usa.gov/dtI[/quote][/column]

June 11, 2012

Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin, reveals a personal history with cryptococcus

March 20, 2012

19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) Themed Discussion: Cryptococcal Meningitis: Advances in Diagnosis and Management.  Seattle, Washington State Conference Center, March 5-8, 2012

March 6th 2012
Alemu. A., S., Kemper. R., R., et al. High Prevalence of Cryptococcal Antigenemia among HIV-infected Patients Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy in Ethiopia

For detailed conference information Click Here