Mycoses

Fungi occur ubiquitously in the environment. They also colonise humans and may cause infections that are referred to as mycoses. While superficial mycoses, e.g. caused by yeasts or dermatophytes, occur rather frequently, a trained/intact immune system usually protects people from life-threatening systemic mycoses. The largest part of these infections affect immunocompromised people and is caused by only few of the 150,000 existing fungi. Depending on the genus, the fungi can spread onto different parts of the human body, i.e., in the bones, joints, skin, stomach and lungs, or in the central nervous system.

Alongside Cryptococcus and Aspergillus, the representatives of the genus Candida belong to the most common human pathogenic fungi. Of the 150 Candida species, only a handful cause severe systemic infections in immunocompromised people: C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis. In addition, C. auris has been spreading worldwide since 2009. Many C. auris strains are resistant against commonly used antimycotics, and multiresistant and panresistant strains are increasingly appearing. Alongside the resistances, their tolerance against disinfectants and heat, as well as their capability to colonise skin and smooth surfaces facilitate the spread of C. auris.

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have classed C. auris as an urgent threat and the WHO have rated it as the highest risk class on their priority list of fungal pathogens.

Literature

Gosink, Identification of Candida auris and echinocandin resistance-associated mutations (2024)

Candida auris | Candida auris (C. auris) | CDC  (retrieved on 30.05.2024)

WHO fungal priority pathogens list to guide research, development and public health action. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.