The use of tissue cultures in the identification of Cryptococcus neoformans isolated from Colombian bats. Sabouraudia 6:127–132

recovered from the liver and intestine of 3 CaroUia perspicillata from Tibd, and from the intestine and spleen of 2 Pteronotu ~ psilotls from Cartagena. C. neoformans has not been previously recorded from bats. Inoculation into various tissue culture cell-lines howed that L-929 cells gave the best results, and that the use of tissue cultures was a simple, efficient and rapid method for the identification ofC. neoformans. All 5 strains of C. neoformans were virulent for CFW mice. Cryptococcosis, an important cosmopolitan disease, caused by Cryptococcus neoformans has been frequently diagnosed in man during the past decade. C. neoformans, the only Cryptococcus sp. pathogenic for man, has been reported from pigeon droppings (Emmons, Binford & Utz, 1964) soil from caves in-habited by bats (Baum & Artis, 1966) bat guano (Kajahiro, 1965; Ajello, 1967) as well as from mammals (Schwabe, 1964; Trautwein, 1965). It is suspected that the organism enters the body by inhalation of infected ust. However, the exact mode of transmission is not clear. The identification of C. neoformans is generally based on its biological or serological characteristics. Its ability to grow at 37°C. distinguishes it fro