Emerging opportunistic yeast infections – literature review
Journal
Archives of Public Health
Date Issued
2025-12-30
Author(s)
DOI
10.3889/aph.2025.6546
Abstract
The growing threat of fungal infections demands immediate attention from healthcare systems in all countries. With the advancement of modern medicine and a growing population of immunosuppressed and immunocompromised patients, as well as critically ill patients, increasingly frequent diagnoses of invasive yeast infections have become an important cause of morbidity and mortality. In the last decade, increased incidence of non-albicans Candida species infection compared to C. albicans has been registered worldwide. Several non-albicans Candida species, such as C. glabrata and C. krusei, may be resistant to azole antifungal therapy The emergence of multidrug-resistant C. auris is the latest threat in many countries, since this fungus can cause intrahospital infections. Trichosporon species are the second most common cause of invasive yeast infections in patients with haematological malignancies, and can be resistant to amphotericin and echinocandins. Despite diagnostic and therapeutic advances, cryptococcosis continues to be a disease with unacceptably high incidence and mortality, particularly in resource-limited settings. Rhodotorula species can be a significant cause of catheter-related fungaemia, sepsis, and invasive disease in severely immunosuppressed patients. Other uncommon yeasts that can cause invasive disease in severely immunosuppressed patients include Magnusiomyces capitatus, Geotrichum candidum, Kodamaea ohmeri, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Malassezia furfur and Sporobolomyces species. Although rare yeasts are emerging as opportunistic human pathogens, diagnosis remains challenging and treatment suboptimal. Therefore, enhanced awareness of fungal infections is crucial among healthcare providers, and this requires great knowledge and understanding, and appropriate diagnostic testing, so every segment of the healthcare system can contribute to address the challenges posed by fungal infections.