The changing epidemiology of invasive mould diseases in immunosuppressed patients: what, why, how?
Review
Overview
abstract
BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of invasive mould diseases in immunocompromised hosts is evolving due to a combination of environmental and host-related factors. OBJECTIVES: Our goal is to characterize this changing epidemiology by exploring two key aspects: (a) the evolution of moulds and (b) the expansion of the pool of immunocompromised hosts in the current era. SOURCES: We searched PubMed and Google Scholar with the combination of the following keywords: "fungal epidemiology", "mold OR mould", "environment", "invasive fungal infection", "invasive mold infection", "Mucor∗", "Aspergill∗", "Fusari∗", "Scedospor∗", "antifungal resistance", "immunocompromised hosts". We also searched the reference lists of all relevant publications for additional references. CONTENT: We describe the changing spectrum of invasive mould infections in the context of emerging antifungal resistance and the rapidly evolving landscape of immunocompromised patient populations. IMPLICATIONS: Recognition of fungal adaptation to environmental changes and the spectrum of immunocompromised hosts is critical for timely diagnosis and management of invasive mould infections, health policy, and research.
