Diagnostic challenges in fungal infections in immunocompromised infected individuals

There has been an enormous increase in the frequency and severity of fungal infection inrecent years. This increase has been driven ina large part by two factors. First, the global AIDS epidemic has fostered the emergence of life-threatening infections by the opportunistic fungi Cryptococcus neoformans and Pneumocystisjiroveci and by other fungi such as Histoplasma capsulatum and Penicilliummarneffei. These infections occur most oftenin resource-limited countries in Africa, SouthAmerica, and Southeast Asia. Second, advancesin medical care and treatment have led to increases in the number of opportunistic infections in patients who are immunocompromised drugs or chemotherapy, or who are infected by way of treatment with immunosuppressive agents. This review lays emphasis on the older and newer methods for fast diagnosis of fungi so that the benefits of modern antifungal treatment are availed and not misused.