Candida albicans

Question 1

What is Candida albicans?

Answer 1

• The yeast Candida albicans is part of the microbiota (oral, GI tract and vagina)
• Transmission of the yeast occurs vertically at birth
• Carriage increases during pregnancy
• Candida can evade host defences, form biofilm and produces proteases, phospholipases and haemolysin
• Resistance
• Produce enzymes that break down host tissue allowing to proliferate and acquire nutrients and compete with bacteria

Question 2

Candida albicans epidemiology?

Answer 2

Commensal - lives with us and doesn’t cause harm

Critically ill patients may develop life threatening Candida infections

The most common fungal infection in AIDS patients

A serious public health challenge

frequently seen in immunocompromised

Question 3

What is the candida albicans pathogenicity ?

Answer 3

Infections can range from superficial to deep and widespread

Opportunistic pathogens - becomes a fungus and starts to penetrate tissues

Transfer may be endogenous (transferred from you e.g. from skin to organs) or exogenous (transferred from someone/something else (e.g. hospital nurse or catheter))

Versatile in terms of anatomical sites

Most people carry at least one strain of Candida
Hospitalised patients carry more