AIDS patients are frequently infected by this fungus. The central nervous system is almost always affected, and the meningitis causes little or no inflammatory reaction: very few neutrophils are seen in the lumbar spinal taps. The fungi are numerous, and may form concentric gelatinous balls. The fungus is spherical, and produces a single teardrop shaped bud. The thick mucoid capsule produces an unstained halo around the organism, in Papanicolaou stained smears. In M-G-G stained smears the capsule may stain in pink color, due to its high sugar content, and the fungi are more easily seen, even if in low numbers. In Papanicolaou stained smears the fungi may be missed, if present in low number, and Prof L. Koss says they can be mimicked by starch granules. Due to its low sensitivity the India ink technique has been abandoned in our laboratory.
The spinal fluid was positive for the Cryptococcal antigen test.