The landlord of the Spouter-Inn had recommended us to his cousin Hosea Hussey of the Try Pots, whom he asserted to be the proprietor of one of the best kept hotels in all Nantucket, and moreover he had assured us that cousin Hosea, as he called him, was famous for his chowders.
Cryptococcus neoformans is a yeast-like fungus enclosed by a capsule. It was first identified in nature from samples of peach juice, but has proven to be found more abundantly in soil contaminated with pigeon droppings, eucalyptus trees, decaying wood from living trees, and in goats with pulmonary disease.
There are four cryptococcal serotypes, types A and D belong to Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans and types B and C belong to Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii. Of those, type A is the most common cause of cryptococcal disease in HIV infected and AIDS affected patients (Stevens, 1990). C. neoformans is commonly found in pigeon droppings and less frequently in soil (Levitz, 1991). Bird droppings provide an enriched media for the yeast.