Mayo Clinic Laboratories > Infectious diseases > Fungal infections

Fungal infections

Answers From the Lab Endemic fungal infections in North America: Elitza Theel, Ph.D.
Answers From the Lab Emerging fungal pathogens: Dr. Nancy Wengenack
Discovery's Edge article Candida auris: This fungus is a healthcare concern

Optimized testing to detect and identify fungi

Mayo Clinic Laboratories routinely utilizes culture, molecular, sequencing, and serologic methods to diagnose fungal infections. Developed by a team of clinical microbiology experts, our assays focus on the detection and identification, as well as antimicrobial susceptibility, of fungi. Serologic testing to detect fungal antigens and antibodies, and rapid direct molecular testing for select fungi, are also available.

The availability of a comprehensive testing menu, alongside consistent innovation and development of new testing methods and strategies, enables detection of a wide variety of clinically significant fungal pathogens, including those that are newly emerging.

Candida auris Candida auris
Candida auris

Candida auris (also known as C. auris) can cause serious, and sometimes fatal, infections, is often resistant to one or more classes of antifungal drugs, and inappropriate treatment may occur as it can be misidentified in the laboratory. Our polymerase chain reaction assay detects and identifies C. auris from surveillance swabs.

Coccidioides Coccidioides
Coccidioides

Including serology, molecular, culture, and antifungal susceptibility testing, our Coccidioides posadasii/immitis offerings include an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect Coccidioides antibodies that reflex to confirmatory complement fixation/immunodiffusion testing when samples result as reactive. Our rapid PCR test detects these species from a variety of specimen sources, including formalin-fixed tissue from pathology consults.

Histoplasma and Blastomyces Histoplasma and Blastomyces
Histoplasma and Blastomyces

Our robust menu of Histoplasma and Blastomyces testing features culture, fungal susceptibility testing, molecular assays, and serologic testing, including an innovative assay that detects antigens from both species in a single test. This combined evaluation capitalizes on antigenic similarities, identifying either fungal infection and facilitating earlier initiation of therapy.

Invasive fungal infection Invasive fungal infection
Invasive fungal infection

Our FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic screening test detects elevated levels of galactomannan and β-D-glucan (BDG), which are frequently present in patients with invasive fungal infections caused by various fungi, including Aspergillus species, Fusarium species, Candida species, and Pneumocystis jirovecii, among others.

Mitigating an expanding threat

Present in soils, on plants, in the air, on people’s skin, and inside the body, millions of fungal species inhabit the planet. While only a few hundred species commonly cause illness, some fungal infections can be severe and even life-threatening, especially among individuals with weakened immune systems. Our fungal disease testing was developed by a team of infectious disease and microbiology experts, who can help identify the optimal testing method to detect fungi and determine the most effective antifungal agent through antimicrobial susceptibility testing.  

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