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Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 18e
| Part 8. Infectious Diseases > Section 16. Fungal Infections > |
Chapter 203. Candidiasis
Sections: Candidiasis: Introduction, Further Readings.
Topics Discussed: candidiasis; fungal infections, invasive; fungal infections, superficial.
Excerpt:"The genus Candida encompasses more than 150 species, only a few of which cause disease in humans. With rare exceptions, the human pathogens are C. albicans, C. guilliermondii, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, C. kefyr, C. lusitaniae, C. dubliniensis, and C. glabrata. Ubiquitous in nature, these organisms are found on inanimate objects, in foods, and on animals and are normal commensals of humans. They inhabit the gastrointestinal tract (including the mouth and oropharynx), the female genital tract, and the skin. Although cases of candidiasis have been described since antiquity in debilitated patients, the advent of Candida species as common human pathogens dates to the introduction of modern therapeutic approaches that suppress normal host defense mechanisms. Of these relatively recent advances, the most important is the use of antibacterial agents that alter the normal human microbial flora and allow nonbacterial species to become more prevalent in the commensal flora. With the introduction of antifungal agents, the causes of Candida infections shifted from an almost complete dominance of C. albicans to the common involvement of C. glabrata and the other species listed above. The non-albicans species now account for approximately..."
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