A life-threatening
infection of the membranes (meninges) that line the brain and the spinal cord. Cryptococcal disease is caused by a
fungus (Cryptococcus neoformans). Most people have been exposed to this organism, which is found in soil contaminated by bird droppings, but it usually does not cause disease in healthy people. The majority of people with cryptococcal meningitis have immune systems that are damaged by disease, such as
AIDS, or suppressed by drugs. The organism can infect almost all organs of the body, although it most commonly causes disease of the meninges, skin or lungs.