Candida albicans is a harmless fungus that usually thrives in the throat, vagina, gut, and mouth, and on the skin of humans without any adverse effect. The pathogen is, nevertheless, opportunistic because it causes infections in patients with compromised immunity or for people with a weak immune system. The pathogen can colonize nearly all organs and tissues in the body to cause serious illnesses. Candidiasis is the most common infection that emerges due to Candida Albicans.
The current paper identifies the causative bacteria of the diseases, defines candidiasis, determines the causes of the disease, the symptoms, the propagation technique of the diseases, and treatment options.
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Causative Bacteria
Candida albicans is the causative agent of candidiasis. It grows at 37 degrees celcius, is unicellular and in yeast form. It is oval and small with a diameter of 2-4µm (Rajendra, 2018). The pathogen is gram positive, grows as a single cell, and produces other cells through budding. The Candida albicans fungus can be found anywhere in the environment and can leave harmlessly in people. The body’s immune system and the native human bacteria usually control the pathogen to ensure it does not cause any infection (Sommers & Fannin, 2015).
Definition of Disease
In situations such as when the body’s immune system decreases due to sickness or the use of drugs to manage other illnesses, the pathogen can cause candidiasis (Nayna, 2019). The disease can be localized in specific locations or extend based on the general health of the affected individual. The diseases are mostly restricted to the skin, genital area, or mouth.
People with weak immune systems due to other diseases or drugs such as anticancer or corticosteroids are vulnerable to topical illnesses and are highly likely to have severe internal illnesses (Nayna, 2019). Candidiasis can be grouped into different categories based on their severity. For instance, the pathogen causes thrush in the mouth affecting moist areas such as on the palate, in the cheeks, and near the lips. Mouth infections can affect the esophagus to cause esophagitis (CDC, 2019a). The pathogen also causes cutaneous candidiasis on the skin in open and moist skin surfaces such as diaper areas, locations near the groin, buttock creases, skin fold in large breasts, and hands that wear rubber gloves regularly (Kühbacher, Burger-Kentischer & Rupp, 2017). The fungus also causes vulvovaginal candidiasis in nearly 75 per cent of all women (CDC, 2019b). Deep candidiasis can occur in infants with low birth weights and in people with a very weak immune system (Kaufman, Liken & Odackal, 2019). In deep candidiasis, the pathogen contaminates the bloodstream and spreads across the body to cause severe illnesses.
The Causes of the Disease
People do not usually get candidiasis because the pathogen is already present in their bodies. Several factors, however, increase the probability of the pathogen causing an infection. For example, overuse of antibiotics to handle other infections may harm the harmless bacteria that control Candida albicans. Antibiotics do not affect the pathogen, which enables it to move to less protected areas of the body, start growing, and reproduce (Nayna, 2019). Specific cancer drugs and steroids also weaken the body’s immune system, which may allow the pathogen to reproduce. Other risk factors include having AIDS, cancer, diabetes, and extended irritation due to dentures. People using contraceptive pills also have a higher chance of developing vaginal candidiasis. Other risk factors such as tight clothing, poor hygiene, and hot weather create a suitable environment for the pathogen to thrive. Pregnancy and obesity also encourage yeast infection (Katz, Matthias & Chisholm-Burns, 2017). Candida albicans mostly infects intertriginous locations and obesity leads to many skin folds and increased sweating. Pregnancy leads to high estrogen levels, which increases the risk of candida infection.
Symptoms
Different symptoms emerge based on the infected location. Cutaneous candidiasis leads to clear red and itchy skin patches that leak repeatedly. Pustules and scabs may emerge near the edge of the infection and the infection is mainly located in the groin, in the buttock folds, between fingers, toes, or breasts, and in the umbilicus area (Ghannoum & Perfect, 2019). These symptoms may be unclear on dark-skinned people (Kühbacher, Burger-Kentischer & Rupp, 2017). For vaginal infection symptoms such as burning or itching pain in the vagina mostly during sex or urination and the presence of a thick and white fluid leaking slowly with minimal or without odor emerge (CDC, 2019b). Symptoms for esophagitis include painful or difficult swallowing accompanied by chest pains behind the sternum. Mouth infections cause symptoms such as white patches in the mouth, around the lips, on the palate and tongue. Other symptoms include red and cracked wet areas of the skin at mouth corners. The patches can or cannot be painful (CDC, 2019a). For deep candidiasis symptoms such as shock, unexplained fever, and multiple organ failure may emerge (Ghannoum & Perfect, 2019).
The Method of Propagation
Candida Albicans can grow in different morphological forms including chlamydospores, pseudohyphae, hyphae, and yeast-like (Kabir, Hussain & Ahmad, 2012). Hyphae is the most important form for infection in which during infections budding yeast cells produce hyphal cells. These cells allow the pathogen to penetrate deep into human tissues, endothelia, and epithelial (Kabir, Hussain & Ahmad, 2012). The pathogen can also switch between the various morphologies based on the differential environmental stimuli to allow it to survive in various conditions (Rajendra, 2018). Another propagation technique is adhesion, which is a step that the pathogen uses to colonize and establish infections.
The pathogen uses adhesins to adhere to different surfaces such as epithelial cells, extracellular matrix, endothelial cells, and the host’s implanted inert materials (Kabir, Hussain & Ahmad, 2012). The pathogen also secrets hydrolytic enzymes such as secreted aspartyl proteinases (SAPs) during infections to degrade different host factors to allow the infection to progress. Other enzymes such as phospholipases A, B, and C help the pathogen damage cells, adhere to them and penetrate them. These enzymes also help the pathogen in obtaining extracellular nutrients from their affected environment. The pathogen also forms a biofilm on both abiotic and biotic surfaces with the help of adhesins (Kabir, Hussain & Ahmad, 2012). Biofilm formation allows the pathogen to adhere to surfaces, develop hyphae cells outside the biofilm, and be dispersed to other cells. The ability to switch between different forms allows the pathogen to infect any organ in the body through the bloodstream.
Treatment
Both categories of candidiasis are not very dangerous except when the disease infects vital body organs through the bloodstream particularly in individuals with weakened immune systems. Treatment for the disease also depends on the affected area. Topical antifungal drugs are used to treat thrush in which a suspension of the drug is swished orally and swallowed. Severe thrush cases may necessitate the administration of antifungal drugs orally for several days (CDC, 2019a). Oral antifungal medications are also used to manage esophagitis while different antifungal creams and powders are used to manage cutaneous candidiasis (Kühbacher, Burger-Kentischer & Rupp, 2017). For vaginal infections, direct administration of antifungal drugs into the affected area as suppositories, ointments, creams, or tablets or through the mouth treats the disease (CDC, 2019b). Managing deep candidiasis involves administering antifungal medications intravenously (Kaufman, Liken & Odackal, 2019).
The conclusion
Candidiasis illness is the result of candida Albicans infection. Humans normally carry the pathogen in their bodies harmlessly. The pathogen causes infection only when the host immune system is weakened due to illnesses such as AIDs and cancer and the use of drugs such as antibiotics and anticancer medications. The categories of candidiasis include thrush, vaginal candidiasis, esophagitis, cutaneous candidiasis, and deep candidiasis. All these diseases are not life-threatening, but only bother the host except for deep candidiasis that can kill. Antifungal drugs are the main treatment option for candidiasis.
References
CDC. (2019a, December 17). Candida Infections of the Mouth, Throat, and Esophagus . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/thrush/index.html
CDC. (2019b, December 17). Vaginal Candidiasis . Centers for Disease Prevention and Control; CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/genital/index.html
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Kabir, M. A., Hussain, M. A., & Ahmad, Z. (2012). Candida Albicans: A Model Organism for Studying Fungal Pathogens. ISRN Microbiology , 2012 , 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/538694
Katz, M. D., Matthias, K. R., & Chisholm-Burns, M. A. (2017). Pharmacotherapy Principles & Practice Study Guide : a Case-based Care PlanAapproach . Mcgraw-Hill Education.
Kaufman, D., Liken, H., & Odackal, N. J. (2019). Diagnosis, Risk Factors, Outcomes, and Evaluation of Invasive Candida Infections. In Infectious Disease and Pharmacology: Neonatology Questions and Controversies (pp. 69–85). Elsevier Health Sciences.
Kühbacher, A., Burger-Kentischer, A., & Rupp, S. (2017). Interaction of Candida Species with the Skin. Microorganisms , 5 (2), 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms5020032
Nayna, S.S. (2019). Candida Albicans : Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment . Nova Medicine & Health.
Rajendra Prasad, & Springer International Publishing Ag. (2018). Candida Albicans: Cellular and Molecular Biology. Cham Springer International Publishing Springer.
Sommers, M. S., & Fannin, E. (2015). Diseases and Disorders : a Nursing Therapeutics Manual (revised). F.A. Davis.
