Fungi Flashcards
What is a fungi?
A chemo-organotropic eukaryote that lacks chlorophyll and forms spores.
What are the 3 main groups of fungi?
Basidiomycetes
Ascomycetes
Zygomycetes
What are yeasts?
Fungi that favour a unicellular habit.
Give an example of a non fatal disease fungi cause in humans?
Athlete’s foot: caused by Epidermophyton, Microsporum and Trichophyton spp.
What are dermatophytes?
Superficial diseases
A pathogenic fungus that grows on skin, mucous membranes, hair, nails, feathers, and other body surfaces
How do Candida species infect humans?
They infect the deep organs of patients with various types of immune dysfunction, e.g. after abdominal surgery, burns, etc. (cases often in ICU)
Name some host factors that contribute to viral infections?
Warm moist areas
Broad-spectrum antibacterial agents reduce competition for epithelial colonization sites in the gut.
Immunosuppression
What are some factors that immunosuppress host defences?
Steroids
Anti-cancer chemotherapy
Solid-organ transplantation
Disease processes e.g leukaemia, AIDs
Name some human diseases candida species can cause?
Oral infections, vaginal infections, skin and nail infections, UTIs, Oesophageal infections, Disseminated infections (in really immunosuppressed patients).
E.g Thrush, nappy rash,
Name some human diseases aspergillosis species can cause?
Simple asthma, Asthma with eosinophilia, Bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, disseminated aspergillosis.
What type of fungi are aspergillosis?
Moulds
What type of fungi are candida?
Yeasts
Name some human diseases cryptococcosis species can cause?
Pulmonary cryptococcosis, meningitis, disseminated infection.
What are some methods of detection of these fungal infections?
Growth on selective medium
Smear tests
Direct detection - visible symptoms
Imaging - CT
What are the main types of anti-fungals?
Triazoles and allylamines - target sterols
Echinocandins- target fungal cell wall
Polyenes - target fungal membrane
Flucytosine - target DNA synthesis
