Mycology Lecture 2 Flashcards
(129 cards)
Most common fungal species to cause disease
Opportunistic invasive mycoses (esp. in immunocompromised patients)
Examples of opportunistic invasive mycoses
Aspergillosis, Candidiasis, Cryptococcosis, Mucormycosis, Pneumocystis
True or false: Endemic dimorphic mycoses have higher mortality rates than opportunistic invasive mycoses
False - OIM has much higher mortality rates
Normal human fungal microbiota is usually characterized as:
commensalism
Many fungi live as commensals with humans, including species such as:
Candida; Malassezia; Pneumocystis jiroveci
Candida as a normal human commensal is usually found in the ____ ___
gastrointestinal tract
Malassezia species as normal human commensals are usually found:
on the outermost layer of skin
Pneumocystis jiroceci as a normal human commensal is usually found in the _____ ___
respiratory tract
Infection (clinical sense)
fungus or immune response to fungus causes damage to host tissue
True or false: humans generally are needed for the completion of fungal life cycle
False - infections are often accidental encounters
True or false: person to person/animal to person transmission of mycoses are rare
True
What are some common themes for causing fungal diseases? (4)
- exposure
- portals of entry (damage to barriers)
- immunocompromised state of host
- fungal thermotolerance/other fungal attributes that can help them evade immune system and survive in the body
True or false: fungi grow very quickly
False - may not grow quickly
True or false: fungi may not move fast in infections
True (ex: fungal meningitis may take weeks to months to be diagnosed and to kill host)
True or false: if fungi do not grow quickly in disease, it can be hard to treat and may require life-long treatments
True
True or false: “epidemics” of mycoses are sometimes reported
True
Where do fungal infections come from?
environmental source (yeast or mold) transfers to human host through inhalation, ingestion, traumatic inoculation
Traumatic inoculation
major disruption of the skin, like through horrible wounds/bone exposed and open to the environment
Once a fungal infection has been established, it can spread through:
dissemination to other organs or via blood (hematogenous)
Portals of entry for fungal infections:
- skin
- inhalation (nasal passages, lungs, sinuses)
- mucous membranes (GI and GU tracts, eye)
- iatrogenic (catheters)
What are the three infection classification schemes?
- invasiveness (superficial, subcutaneous, or deep?)
- source of fungi (endogenous or exogenous?)
- morphology (yeast/mold/both?)
Name 6 examples of primary pathogens
- Histoplasma
- Coccidioides
- Blastomyces
- Sporothrix
- Paracoccidiodes
- Cryptococcus (which is also opportunistic!!)
Key risk factor for a primary pathogen
Exposure
Key risk factor for an opportunistic pathogen
Host and/or host response