RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
A1 Vinall, Phil
T1 Fungal Disease in the 21st Century
JF MD Conference Express
YR 2012
FD SAGE Publications
VO 12
IS 14
SP 14
OP 15
DO 10.1177/155989771214004
UL http://mdc.sagepub.com/content/12/14/14.abstract
AB 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.”