Abstract
A domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) was presented with lymphadenopathy and acute bilateral blindness. Cytologic evaluation and biopsy of an affected lymph node revealed pyogranulomatous lymphadenitis with intralesional yeast consistent with Cryptococcus sp. Subsequent studies demonstrated Cryptococcus gattii serotype B VGI/AFLP4 as the causative agent. The ferret was treated with fluconazole and prednisone. After one month of therapy, an improvement of the clinical symptoms was detected although blindness persisted. Seven months after presentation, the disease progressed to a severe neurologic condition, and it was euthanized. Postmortem exam revealed disseminated cryptococcosis with prominent neurologic involvement. Nasal swabs of other ferrets and humans from the same household revealed that two ferrets and two humans to be asymptomatic carriers of the same strain of cryptococcus as the necropsied ferret. These findings stress the importance of veterinary diagnostic work with pets and epidemiological investigations for disease prevention in them and in their owners.
Acknowledgements
The authors want to thank the owners of the infected ferret for their cooperation. Thanks also to Concepción Nuñez for laboratory technical assistance, Lourdes Molina for obtaining the first isolate and Susan Kelleher for the English proofreading of the manuscript.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
This paper was first published online on Early Online on 17 March 2011.