Candida Infection Rates Increasing

Candida infection rates increasing and antibiotic usage is a major risk factor.

Antibiotic usage increases risk of candida intestinal growth and rate of candida infections. Infection Rates are Increasing and in the past 20 years there has been a huge increase in the rate of Candida invasive infections (1). Candida infections are most common in immunocompromised patients, cancer patients and those with diabetes (1). Antibiotics are also a major risk factor and numerous research papers have documented that increased risk of antibiotics is associated with significantly greater risk of invasive or overgrowth Candida in the intestines, mouth, and vagina/ vulva (1-3).

ANTIBIOTIC USAGE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES HUMAN STOOL CONCENTRATIONS OF CANDIDA AND OTHER YEASTS

The use of antibiotics which kill bacteria can significantly increase levels of Candida and other yeasts in the intestines. A Greek study treated 40 cancer patients with one of 4 antibiotics: 1) Amoxicillin-Clavulanate, 2) Ciprofloxacin, 3) Sulfamathoxazole-Trimethoprin, and 4) Ampicillin (4). The use of these antibiotics increased stool concentrations of yeasts by 10 to 10,000 fold (4). Use of Amoxicillin-Clavulanate was especially associated with increased yeasts levels (4). Candida albicans was the most common yeasts found in these antibiotic treated cancer patients, with Torulopsis glabrata, Candida parapsilosis, and Candida tropicalis also seen (4).

ANTIBIOTIC USAGE INCREASES CANDIDA GROWTH AND ALTERS GUT ECOSYSTEM IN MICE

Use of the broad spectrum antibiotic cefoperazone was found to significantly increase growth, morphogenesis, and gastro intestinal Candida infections in mice (5). Metabolomic analysis reported that ceforperazone also increase levels of carbohydrates and sugar alcohols in the murine gut(5). Such increases in carbohydrates favor growth, morphogenesis and infection of Candida albicans(5). Infection rates increasing across the board.

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Research and References

1. Lagunes L, Rello J. Invasive candidiasis: from mycobiome to infection, therapy, and prevention. European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology. 2016;35(8):1221-6.

2. Ostrosky-Zeichner L, Sable C, Sobel J, Alexander BD, Donowitz G, Kan V, et al. Multicenter retrospective development and validation of a clinical prediction rule for nosocomial invasive candidiasis in the intensive care setting. European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology. 2007;26(4):271-6.

3. Goncalves B, Ferreira C, Alves CT, Henriques M, Azeredo J, Silva S. Vulvovaginal candidiasis: Epidemiology, microbiology and risk factors. Crit Rev Microbiol. 2016;42(6):905-27.

4. Samonis G, Gikas A, Toloudis P, Maraki S, Vrentzos G, Tselentis Y, et al. Prospective study of the impact of broad-spectrum antibiotics on the yeast flora of the human gut. European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology. 1994;13(8):665-7.

5. Gutierrez D, Weinstock A, Antharam VC, Gu H, Jasbi P, Shi X, et al. Antibiotic-induced gut metabolome and microbiome alterations increase the susceptibility to Candida albicans colonization in the gastrointestinal tract. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2019.