10^th European Immunology Conference

Microbial and Fungal Immunology

These kinds of infections are sometimes asymptomatic. Clinically infected person will be a carrier of pathogen causing disease and infection. Such kinds of infections aren’t easily identified but only by microbial culture and molecular techniques.

An individual may develop infection signs only after a period of subclinical infection. During the course of clinical infection, weakness is the first onset symptom. Fever and drowsiness are later signs. These are the evolved responses of host system to get rid of infection. As an alternative to control or remove this pathogen, our body chooses to tolerate an infection

Fungal Immunology

There are approximately 100, 000 species of fungi and these are ubiquitous in the environment. Some form spores which we inhale on a daily basis (e.g. Aspergillus spp), and others live as human commensal organisms (e.g. Candida spp). Despite the close encounters we have with fungi, how our immune system recognises and protects us from fungal pathogens is only just beginning to be well understood of the fungi that cause disease, many are opportunistic pathogens, meaning they only cause disease under certain circumstances − such as when the immune system becomes weakened. For example, chemotherapy, immunosuppressive drugs and HIV infection all result in an impaired immune system, meaning that fungi can then more easily infect these vulnerable patients.