Candida albicans is a common fungal pathogen that normally lives in the human gastrointestinal tract. It can cause infections when there is an overgrowth, especially in immunocompromised individuals. C. albicans exists in both yeast and hyphal forms and is able to cause a variety of diseases depending on where in the body it infects, such as oropharyngeal candidiasis (oral thrush), vulvovaginal candidiasis (yeast infection), and invasive candidiasis. Transmission primarily occurs endogenously when there is a disruption to the normal microbiota. Treatment involves antifungal medications depending on the specific infection.

1. Candida
albicans
GROUP A:
Zehraa Cheaib
Ammara Majeed
Adam Windle
Alex Edmonds
Eve Collinson
Alex Hutton

2. CONTENTS
……………………………………………
1.Biographical Details
2.Main Address
3.Occupation
4.Strengths
5.Weaknesses
6.Notable Achievements

3. 1. BIOGRAPHICAL
DETAILS
Alex Edmonds

4. • Candida albicans is a fungi- Eukaryotic.
• Very common, ~80% of people have the fungi within
them.
• Discovered in 400 BCE, not fully classified until early
20th century.
• Name Candida, comes from the latin word for white
since when it was first observed it was as white sores.
(Acharya, 1994; Lynch, 19

5. • Exists has either yeast
(spherical) or hyphae
(Dimorphic).
• 10-12 microns in size.
• Typical cell wall
structure of fungi.
• Gram positive (violet
staining)
(Acharya, 1994)

6. 2. MAIN ADDRESS Eve Collinson

7. Candida Albicans occurs naturally in
humans primarily in the Gastrointestinal
Tract, Mouth and Colon.
(Foss, 2013

8. Candida Albicans optimum
growth temperature is around
33oC, with the final maximum
temperature for growth being
around 38oC.
Many sugars and
polysaccharides such as
galactose, glucose and corn
sugar promote growth of
Candidas Albicans
(Lemos-Carolina, Madeira-Lopes & Van Uden

9. 3. OCCUPATION Alex Hutton

10. DISEASE STATES
Candida Albicans can cause the
following infections:
1. Oropharyngeal candidiasis
• Mouth and throat infection
2. Vulvovaginal (genital) candidiasis
• Vaginal yeast infection
3. Invasive candidiasis (candidemia)
• Bloodstream infection
(CDC, 2017)

11. DISEASE
SYMPTOMSCandida Albicans infection affects
moist areas in the body such as:
• Vagina, mouth, rectum
(Kluwer, 2017)
Thrush White patches in
the mouth
Esophagitis Chest pain
Difficulty
Swallowing
Cutaneous
Candidiasis
Soreness of the
skin
Moist, red patches
on skin
Vaginal Yeast
Infection
Vaginal itchiness,
Vaginal discharge,
Pain & discomfort
during intercourse
Deep Candidiasis Fever

12. • Candidemia can be either long
lasting or short term.
• The longer the infection has
been in the body, the more
entrenched it is within the gut.
• A more advanced infection will
require a longer time to cure
the disease.
• Therefore….
• The severity of the Candida
overgrowth before treatment
determines how long the
disease will last.
DISEASE
CHARACTERISTICS
Other symptoms include:
• Fatigue
• Itchy eyes
• Bloating
• Constipation/ diarrhoea
(Perfect Health, 201

13. TRANSMISSION
(VelocityEHS, 2017; Sánchez, 2
• The main mode of transmission is Endogenous spread.
• This is caused by an overgrowth of Candida Albicans in
the human flora due to changes in the body’s
homeostasis such as:
• Changes in acidity levels.
• Reduction of ‘good bacteria’ in the body.
• A weakened immune system.
• Such changes may arise due to use of central venous
catheters in hospitals, kidney dialysis and major surgery.

14. TRANSMISSION (CONT.)
“Vertical Transmission of Candida and its
consequences”
25-30% of women with C.Albicans found
in vaginal secretions after pregnancy.
70-85% of these women spread the
infection to their child.
22-24% of all infants acquire this infection
via vertical transmission.
Horizontal Transmission
• via contact with excretions of mouth,
skin, and faeces from patients or
carriers.
(VelocityEHS, 2017; Blaschke-Hellmessen, 1997)

15. 5. STRENGTHS Adam Windle

16. • Present in 40% of healthy adults GIT
• Is optimistically pathogenic and reacts to
environmental cues to become filamentous
form and cause infection
• Becomes pathogenic in the immuno-
compromised and critically ill
• Has incidence rate of 40% in The immuno-
compromised in hospitals
• Tongue piercings drastically increases
susceptibility
• Can be potentially fatal if invasive candidiasis
occurs whereby the infection enters the
bloodstream
(CDC, 2017; Kurzai et al., 200

17. • Once infected, can cause malnutrition in
patients and can affect the absorption of
drugs
• Becoming increasingly resistant to both
first and second line antifungals
• Its resistance to azoles is described as a
significant problem
• Can adapt to pH conditions
• Virulence factors include biofilm formation,
adhesins and invasins
• No vaccination against it
(Foss, 2013; Ford et al.,

18. 4. WEAKNESSES Zehraa Cheaib

19. DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY……………………………………………
Infection Treatment
Thrush Topical Nystatin & Clotrimazole
Esophagitis Oral Fluconazole
Cutaneous candidiasis Antifungal Powders & creams
Vaginal Yeast Infection Butoconazole, Clotrimazole,
Miconazole, Nystatin, Tioconazole,
or Single-dose Oral Fluconazole
Deep candidiasis IV Voriconazole, Fluconazole,
Caspogungin or Micafungin

20. SUSCEPTIBILITY TO
DISINFECTANTS, PHYSICAL
INACTIVATION &
SURVEILLANCE
…………………………
• 1% sodium hypchlorite
• 2% glutaraldehyde
• Formaldehyde
• 70% ethanol
• Inactivated at 121°C
• Monitor for symptoms
• Microscopic demonstration
in fluid / tissue
(VelocityEHS, 201

21. ANTI-
CANDIDAL
VACCINATI
ON
………………
Als Vaccine
SAP
Vaccine
• Recently, vaccines
targeting Candida ha
ve been described in
preclinical trials.
(Wang et al., 2015; Spellberg, 20

22. 6. NOTABLE
ACHIEVEMENTS
Ammara Majeed

23. (Ballou et al., 201

24. MENTAL HEALTH
CONDITIONS
ADDICTI
ON
Acetylaldehyde Tetrahydroisoquin
olone
Opiate Poppy Plants
(Perkins, 201

25. 46000
CASES
OF
INVASI
VE
CANDI
DA
EVERY
YEAR
IN THE
(CDC, 2017

26. REFERENCES
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glucan masking and immune evasion. Nature Microbiology, 2, 16238.
CDC. (2017). Invasive Candidiasis Statistics. In Centers for disease control and prevention. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from
https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/invasive/statistics.html
DrAxe. (2017). 9 Candida Symptoms & 3 Steps to Treat Them. In DrAxe. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://draxe.com/candida-
symptoms/
Evans, E. G. V., Odds, F. C., Richardson, M. D., & Holland, K. T. (1975). Optimum conditions for initiation of filamentation in Candida
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Kurzai, O., Schmitt, C., Bröcker, E. B., Frosch, M., & Kolb-Mäurer, A. (2005). Polymorphism of Candida albicans is a major factor in the
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Lemos‐Carolino, M., Madeira‐Lopes, A., & Van Uden, N. (1982). The temperature profile of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. Journal of
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Lynch, D. P. (1994). Oral candidiasis: history, classification, and clinical presentation. Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology, 78(2), 189-
193.
McCourtie, J. A. N. E., & Douglas, L. J. (1981). Relationship between cell surface composition of Candida albicans and adherence to acrylic after
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http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/15-fascinating-facts-about-candida-you-may-not-know/
Spellberg, B., 2011. Vaccines for invasive fungal infections. F1000 Med Rep, 3(13), pp.10-3410.
University of Minnesota. (2013). Discovery of sexual mating in Candida albicans could provide insights into infections. In ScienceDaily.
Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130130143632.htm
VelocityEHS. (2017). Free Safety Data Sheet Index. In MSDS Online. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from