# cryptococcosis

Pronunciation: say "krip-toh-ko-KOH-sis" US /ˌkɹɪptoʊkɑˈkoʊsɪs/, UK /ˌkɹɪptəʊkɒˈkəʊsɪs/

## Noun

1. A serious, sometimes fatal fungal disease caused by members of the Cryptococcus neoformans species complex, usually caught by inhaling infectious particles from the environment.
   - Simple: A serious illness caused by breathing in a kind of fungus, often harming the lungs and brain.
   - _Cryptococcosis often develops in patients whose immune systems have been weakened by HIV._
   - _The physicians confirmed cryptococcosis after finding the fungus in his spinal fluid._

## Origin

Formed from "cryptococcus" combined with the suffix "-osis."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cryptococcosis (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).