Opportunistic Fungal Infections

Introduction

The notion of opportunistic fungal infection could be described as an infection that causes significant health issues. The rate of percentage of this disease is usually high among immunity compromised patients. The factors, which influence this infection mainly, increase the pathogenic capacity of the patients. The symptoms of fungal infection are difficult to treat without the usage of antifungal therapy. The timely initiation of the therapy could affect the significant impact of fungal infection. The effects of opportunistic fungal infection are high among patients who remain in the intensive care unit. 

Opportunistic Fungal Infections

The notion of opportunistic fungal infection could be known as a disease mainly caused by yeast and fungus. This infection usually takes place in areas like the mouth, throat and vagina due to serious infection. The fungal infection could affect blood, bones and other parts of the body in the patients.  The fungal infections could become severe if they remain untreated for several days. The most effective way to treat fungal infections is the usage of antifungals. As per the analysis and findings of researchers, it has been stated that the security function of the human body is complex in order to fight against fungal infections. The common symptoms of opportunistic fungal infections are redness, irritation, rashes, burning sensation etc which could become severe if remain untreated for several days. The detection of fungal infections could be done usually with the help of blood tests and it would help to diagnose the presence of fungi in the body of the patient. 

List of Opportunistic Fungal Infections

The disease of opportunistic fungal infections could take place among animals as well as among humans. The pulmonary defence mechanisms help to mitigate the issues caused by the fungal spores of the human body. The effects of this disease could increase among patients who have weak immune systems. The fungus which does not cause infections in immunologically competent but causes infection among immunocompromised people could be termed an opportunistic pathogen. The lists of some opportunistic fungal infections are mucocutaneous candidiasis, pneumocystosis, thrush, histoplasmosis, candida, cryptococcosis, neutropenia and aspergillus. Among these opportunistic fungal infections, the risk factors are very high in neutropenia. Aspergillus could easily affect people suffering from hematologic malignancy. The most common opportunistic fungal infection among diabetic patients is zygomycosis. The most common opportunistic fungal infection among humans or animals with compromised immunity systems is mucormycosis. Mucormycosis could be described as the third most common infection in the list of opportunistic fungal infections among animals and humans. The rate of fungal infections is mostly higher in people with compromised immune systems in comparison with higher immunity systems. 

Opportunistic Fungal Infections in HIV

The opportunistic fungal infections mainly affect people with poor immunity systems. People who suffer from HIV become more prone to opportunistic fungal infections as they suffer from the immunocompromised disorder. The significant impact of HIV weakens the immunity system of patients who are suffering from it. The impact of opportunistic fungal infections could become life threatening if not treated in a timely manner. Thrush is a well-known opportunistic fungal infection that is common among people suffering from HIV. This infection usually takes place in the mouth or sometimes in the throat, which could be painful for the patients suffering from it. The cause of fungal infections among HIV patients increases the risk factors like morbidity and mortality. The major influential factor for opportunistic fungal infection is the presence of fungi. The patients suffering from HIV are more prone to get affected by the opportunistic fungal infection. Mucocutaneous candidiasis and pneumocystis are commonly found in people suffering from HIV, which could increase the risk of morbidity among patients.

Examples of Opportunistic Fungal Infections

Opportunistic fungal infections do not always remain pathogenic in nature except in people with low immunity system disorder. The percentage rate of mortality in the aspect of fungal infections ranges from 27% to 40%. Some examples of opportunistic fungal infections are sporotrichosis, coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, aspergillosis, penicillium marneffei, pneumocystosis carinii. The rate of infection is fatal among patients suffering from histoplasmosis. The fatal rate among the patients suffering from histoplasmosis is 10%. The immunocompromised patients boost the capacity of the pathogens, which increases the cause of opportunistic fungal infection. This upward trend in the opportunistic fungal infection rate prominently indicates that people are suffering more from an immunodeficiency state. Some other examples of opportunistic fungal infection are mycosis, thrush, fusariosis etc. The major reasons behind the increase in the number of infections are diabetes, burns, hematologic cancers etc that increases the risks of patients.

Conclusion

This discussion could be concluded by stating that the risk factors of the fungal infection could be decreased with proper treatment in a timely manner. The major influencing factors behind the increase in the rate of infection have been mentioned. The patients must be treated carefully and the usage of antifungals plays a crucial role in the treatment of fungal infection. The usage of sugar in the diet of patients suffering from opportunistic fungal infection must be avoided. The application of antifungals is necessary to reduce the spread of yeast infection.