Epidemiological Attributes of Candida Species in Tropical Regions

AbstractPurpose of ReviewGlobal burden associated with the growing incidence of fungal infections poses as a serious threat especially in developing countries. Several local surveillance programs have already been established to follow the epidemiological characteristics ofCandida infections; however, these programs often only focused on broadly researched regions, like Europe, North America, and certain Asian countries. Therefore, the need to evaluate epidemiological data is high in less studied regions, for example in the tropical climate zone countries, especially since the number of fungal infections is generally described to be higher in these locations.Recent FindingsC. albicans is still the most often isolated pathogenic species, in theCandida genus; however, the importance of other NAC (non-albicans Candida species) is increasing. Distributions of frequently isolatedCandida species known to differ according to climate zones. For instance, Northern Europe and the USA generally reportC. glabrata as the most prominent NAC species, whileC. tropicalis-associated infections are more common in tropical regions.SummaryCurrent epidemiological data from tropic regions highlights the importance to studyCandida-associated fungal infections in these locations, since besides the most common pathogens, emerging species likeC. auris appearing to become more frequently isolated.

Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - January 22, 2021 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research