Why carry out identification?
- Knowing which fungus is involved guides appropriate antifungal choice, dose and duration of therapy. It may also indicate the source of infection.
- Additional or dual infections can often be identified (i.e. 3-5% of Candida bloodstream infections).
- Severity of infection may be revealed from the extent of involvement on skin or scans, the number or load of organisms visible on microscopy or histology, or the strength of signal on antigen or PCR tests. These factors may assist in determining whether additional therapy should be added and in following response to therapy.
- Assessing whether antifungal resistance is present, and whether an alternative antifungal agent is required.
Fungal names
In past years, fungi had two names – one for the sexual stage (teleomorph) and one for the asexual stage (anamorph). This dual nomenclature has been abandoned, and fungi now have only one name. Many fungi, including most medically important fungi, have undergone significant taxonomic study, resulting in many name changes. Some fungi have closely related sibling species, which can be difficult to distinguish from each other without the aid of molecular analysis. For this reason, many laboratories report species complexes, if the additional identification work is not done, as in Aspergillus niger complex.
For the most up-to-date listing and explanation of medically important fungi, see the Atlas of Clinical Fungi online.
Laboratory tests explained, including current suppliers
Find out more about how to perform specimen collection. When submitting hair/skin/nail samples, always include plenty of sample material. Contact your local mycology reference centre for specific packaging requirements.
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