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Candida albicans

Candida albicans
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Saccharomycetes
Order: Saccharomycetales
Family: Saccharomycetaceae
Genus: Candida
Species: C. albicans image = Candida
Binomial name
Candida albicans
(C.P.Robin) Berkhout (1923)
Synonyms
  • Candida stellatoidea
  • Oidium albicans

Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus that grows both as yeast and filamentous cells and one of the few species of the Candida genus that cause the infection candidiasis in humans.C. albicans is responsible for 50–90% of all cases of candidiasis in humans. Systemic fungal infections (fungemias) including those by C. albicans have emerged as important causes of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients (e.g., AIDS, cancer chemotherapy, organ or bone marrow transplantation).C. albicans biofilms may form on the surface of implantable medical devices. In addition, hospital-acquired infections by C. albicans have become a cause of major health concerns. About 85-95% of vaginal infections cases are responsible for physician office visits every year.

C. albicans is a common member of human gut flora and is detectable in the gastrointestinal tract in 40% of healthy adults. It is usually a commensal organism, but can become pathogenic in immunocompetent individuals under a variety of conditions. Overgrowth of the fungus results in candidiasis (candidosis). Candidiasis is often observed in immunocompromised individuals, including HIV-infected patients. It commonly occurs on mucous membranes in the mouth or vagina, but may affect a number of other regions. For example, higher prevalence of colonization of C. albicans was reported in young individuals with tongue piercing, in comparison to unpierced matched individuals. To infect host tissue, the usual unicellular yeast-like form of C. albicans reacts to environmental cues and switches into an invasive, multicellular filamentous form, a phenomenon called dimorphism. In addition, an overgrowth infection is considered superinfection, usually applied when an infection become opportunistic and very resistant to antifungals. It then becomes suppressed by antibiotics. The infection is prolonged when the original sensitive strain is replaced by the antibiotic-resistant strain.


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