Summary

Prior to the 20th century, fungal diseases were rare in humans; however, between 1899 and 1999 fungal diseases such as Candida albicans, Coccidiodes immitis, and Aspergillus spp. became distressingly common. The introduction of penicillin in the 1940s changed human flora, and a few years later plastic catheters, which provide microbial access ports, were introduced. Then followed the introduction of intensive care units, organ transplants, and in the late 1980s, the HIV pandemic. All of these together worked to transform “nonpathogens” into “pathogens.”