infections are acquired by inhalation of fungi from contaminated soil, and severity of disease generally correlates with the amount of exposure to the pathogen. Examples of organisms that are opportunistic pulmonary fungal pathogens include Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Pneumocystis, and Rhizopus. C. neoformans is found ubiquitously in the soil, usually in soil contaminated with pigeon guano (Perfect and Casadevall, 2002). These fungi primarily cause disease in individuals with compromised immune systems. Most cryptococcal infections are asymptomatic, and the organism typically causes disease in immune compromised patients, such as AIDS patients, solid organ transplant patients on immune-suppressive drugs, or patients receiving chemotherapy (