Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogenicyeast1 that is a common member of the human gut flora. It does not proliferate outside the human body. It is detected in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40-60% of healthy adults. It is usually a commensal organism, but can become pathogenic in immune compromised individuals under a variety of conditions. It is one of the few species of the Candida genus that causes the human infection candidiasis, which results from an overgrowth of the fungus.4,5 Candidiasis is for example often observed in HIV-infected patients.

1. albicans is the most common fungal species isolated from biofilms either formed on (permanent) implanted medical devices or on humantissue.
2. albicans, together with C.tropicalis, C. parapsilosis and C. glabrata, is responsible for 50–90% of all cases of candidiasis in humans. A mortality rate of 40% has been reported for patients with systemic candidiasis due to C. albicans. Estimates range from 2800 to 11200 deaths caused annually in the USA due toC. albicanscauses candidiasis.