The incidence of hospital fungal infections--yeast fungaemia.

In order to determine the incidence and the causative agents of fungaemia, a survey was undertaken of blood culture specimens received from the Bloemfontein academic hospitals. Over a period of 1 year, 5,017 successive blood cultures were examined; 1,030 (20.5%) had growth of which 106 (2.1%) yielded yeasts. Candida albicans (42%), C. tropicalis (26%) and C. parapsilosis (20%) were the species most frequently isolated. Fungaemia occurred most often after broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy and abdominal disorders.