CONTROVERSIES IN MEDICAL MYCOLOGY

Questions and controversies involving many aspects of medical mycology have increased in recent years. Case histories are described in which fungal infection causes unexpected and atypical problems. Molecular t echniques of diagnosis need to be used alongside traditional culture m ethods. Increased drug use has led to genuine concerns and differing v iews regarding the definition and development of resistance by fungi. The use and value of combinational antifungal therapy and the employme nt of immunomodulatory agents concomitant with antimycotics have been debated. Nonetheless, good standards have been developed in the testin g of antifungal agents. These, together with the commercial viability of antifungal drugs and hence increased interest in their development, mean that although we have entered the golden age of mycology we have also entered the golden age of antifungal therapy.