Mycoses, the fungal diseases, range from superficial to systemic to opportunistic types. The superficial mycoses, as the name suggests, can be prevented by good personal hygiene. The systemic mycoses are more serious types. These occur mainly through inhalation of spores present in the soil, begin as lung lesion, become chronic and spread through the bloodstream to other organs. The opportunistic mycoses can be life threatening in compromised hosts; a host with lowered resistance to infection. The cause of less resistance could be malnutrition, alcoholism, cancer, diabetes, etc,.
Fungi are a source of large number secondary metabolites, the compounds that are not necessary for growth and reproduction but are produced by the organism to protect them from various onslaughts. An antibiotic is prime example of a secondary metabolite. The aggressive use of antibiotics over time may lead to increase in fungal pathogens. The blind treatment of mycoses leads to excessive use of antifungal drugs and thus can encourage the emergence of drug resistant strains.
