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The isolation of Blastomyces dermatitidis is reported from the lungs of one of 155 insectivorous bats, representing Rhinopoma hardwickei hardwickei Gray, inhabiting the abandoned first floor of a school building in Old Dehli. The identity of the fungus was based on its gross and microscopic cultural morphology including demonstration of its dimorphic character. It was further confirmed by determination of the capacity of the isolate to produce the "A" exo-antigen specific for B. dermatitidis and by verification of its pathogenicity for white mice. Heretofore, B. dermatitidis has not been reported from bats. It is also the first occasion that B. dermatitidis has been isolated from animal sources in an Asian country, thereby indicating that this important dimorphic pathogenic fungus is endemic in Asia.

The environmental distribution of Aspergillus fumigatus in 2 cane-sugar mills and one paper factory in northern India is compared with 2 localities in Delhi. The preponderance of the species at the U.D. Sugar Mills, Shamli, was contrary to its low prevalence in the University of Delhi campus and at Subzimandi, the vegetable and fruit market of Delhi. Aspergillus fumigatus accounted for 42.5% of the total aerial fungal colony counts recorded in the Shamli Mills as against 2% in Delhi. The predominant aerial fungus at Subzimandi was A. niger whereas aspergilli were overshelmingly outnumbered by other fungi in the University of Delhi campus. Within the Shamli Mills, the bagasse-containing sites had a significantly higher aerial prevalence (50.3%) of A. fumigatus than the bagasse-free sites (13.5%). Furthermore, A. fumigatus was more prevalent in the operational (57.2%) than in the non-operational period (23.8%) of the mills. The high frequency of isolations of A. fumigatus from and its dense population in sugar-cane bagasse seemed to suggest a special association of the fungus with this substrate.

The isolation of Blastomyces dermatitidis in India is reported from the bronchial aspirate of a female asthmatic patient who had never travelled abroad. The patient was a resident of Rodhain, a small town in the District of Badaun (Uttar Pradesh), situated about 250 km south-east of Delhi. Apart from its demonstration by culture and direct microscopy of a bronchial aspirate, B. dermatitidis was seen microscopically on two occasions in KOH wet mounts and smears of sputum stained with periodic acid-Schiff's reagent. Anti-B. dermatitidis serum precipitins were shown by immunodiffusion in 3 of 4 serum samples from the patient. The identity of the fungus was based on its characteristic morphology in clinical specimens and in culture, conversion of the mold form to the yeast from in vitro and vice versa, and by verification of its pathogenicity in white mice. A detailed clinical and laboratory evaluation of the patient indicated that she had suffered from an episode of self-limited acute pulmonary blastomycosis that required no antifungal therapy. This is believed to be the first authentic report of the isolation of B. dermatitidis from clinical material in India.

The prevalance of Basidiobolus ranarum Eidam is reported from the intestinal contents of 14 (7%) of 200 bats belonging to Rhinopoma hardwickei hardwickei Gray ('the lesser rat-tailed bat'), an insectivorous species captured from Delhi area. Eleven of the positive bats were captured during August/September whereas the remaining three came from collections made during November or April. No macroscopic or microscopic lesions were found in the intestine of the bats yielding B. ranarum. This is believed to be the first report on the association of B. ranarum with bats. A more extensive sampling of bat species including their guano is indicated to elucidate the role of Chiroptera in the biological cycle of B. ranarum.

The isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans from milk and its demonstration by direct microscopy has been reported in a case of caprine mastitis. This is believed to be the first instance of caprine mastitis in which C. neoformans has been implicated as the etiologic agent.

The pathogenicity for normal and cortisone-treated mice of Candida requinyii, Pichia etchellsii, Candida famata (Torulopsis candida) Trichosporon cutaneum and Sterigmatomyces aphidis, isolated from foodstuffs or clinical material, is reported. The test species proved nonpathogenic to normal mice inoculated intravenously with up to 10(7) cells. There was neither any mortality nor gross or microscopic lesions, and cultures were negative from the visceral organs and brain when these animals were necropsied after 3 weeks of observation. In cortisone-treated mice, on the other hand, the yeasts caused mortalities, the extent of which varied according to the infecting species and the challenge dose. Candida requinyii was the most pathogenic species, causing 100% mortality in 8 days, followed by S. aphidis, C. famata, T. cutaneum and P. etchellsii which killed 75%, 50%, 38% and 25% of the infected animals. Apart from the higher mortalities, C. requinyii and S. aphidis caused more frequent visceral lesions than did either T. cutaneum or C. famata. Involvement of the brain occurred more commonly with C. requinyii and T. cutaneum than with C. famata or S. aphidis. P. etchellsii was the only yeast that failed to incite any gross or microscopic lesions. The study re-emphasizes the pathogenic potential of ordinarily harmless fungi for immunosuppressed hosts.

Blastomyces dermatitidis is reported for the first time from the liver of Rhinopoma hardwickei hardwickei Gray (the 'lesser rat-tailed bat'); it was cultured from one of 46 samples of the bat captured on December 10, 1982, from the basement of Safdar-Jang Tomb, a historical monument in New Delhi. The fungus was not found in 581 other bats representing R. hardwickei hardwickei, three more insectivorous and one frugivorous species investigated from several sites in Delhi and New Delhi metropolitan areas. The identity of the isolate was based upon its macroscopic and microscopic cultural morphology, dimorphic character and verification of pathogenicity for white mice. It was further confirmed by determining the capacity of the isolate to produce the 'A' exoantigen specific for B. dermatitidis. The infected bat did not manifest any obvious clinical signs and symptoms of illness. Its visceral organs were free from macroscopic lesions, and histopathologically none of them including the liver, revealed any fungal elements or tissue response. B. dermatitidis was not found in any of the 34 samples of bat guano investigated by direct culture or mouse-inoculation technique. The results reinforce the available evidence for the endemic occurrence of B. dermatitidis in India and focus on the possible role of R. hardwickei hardwickei as a natural host or vector for this pathogen.

Cryptococcus neoformans was cultured from 9 (1%) of 835 clinical specimens examined from the respiratory tract of patients. These isolations came from 3 (0.4%) of the760 patients; 8 isolates were from sputum and one from urine. The fungus was not demonstrable in the air at a selected site during a 2-year study although other species of Cryptococcus, namely, C. albidus, C. ater, C. flavus, C. laurentii, C. magnus, C. terreus and C. uniguttulatus were isolated. The three C. neoformans positive patients were males, with pulmonary tuberculosis as the primary disease and history of repeated exposure to pigeon excreta in two. None of these patients manifested any overt signs and symptoms specificially attributable to cryptococcosis, nor did they receive any antifungal therapy. Repeated isolations of C. neoformans from sputum, a positive urine culture and demonstration of cryptococcal antibodies in a serum specimen, followed by negative cultures and serology, suggested that patient 1 had spontaneously recovered from an episode of benign, minimal pulmonary cryptococcosis. Patients 2 and 3 probably carried the fungus as a transient resident of the respiratory tract. The results suggest that C. neoformans is of uncommon occurrence in the respiratory tract of patients with bronchopulmonary disorders and that the isolation of the fungus from this site may not necessarily imply an etiologic relationship.

Mycetoma of the knee, caused by Nocardia caviae and idangosed by culture and histopathology, occurred in a 20 year old farmer from a rural area of Varanasi District in Uttar Pradesh, India. The isolate was pathogenic to mice and it showed close agreement with the standard description of the species. It is suggested that infection due to this species has a higher prevalence than is currently recognized.