Fungal sepsis is a condition in which fungi or yeasts are present in the blood. The most common type is candidemia, also known as systemic candidiasis, which is an infection caused by the Candida genus of fungi. Candidiasis is the most common blood infection. Infections caused by other fungi, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus and Cryptococcus, are also referred to as fungal diseases. These infections are most prevalent among patients who are immunosuppressed or immunocompromized, those with severe neutropenia, cancer patients, and patients with indwelling venous catheters.

Further research has found that Candida albicans is the most common pathogen in fungal blood infections, accounting for around 70% of cases, followed by Candida glabrata, Aspergillus species and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, recent studies have found that infections caused by Chlorella glabrata, Saccharomyces boulardii, Candida tropicalis, Kluyveromyces and Parapsilosis are becoming more prevalent. This may be related to the widespread use of antibiotics.

When these fungi multiply in the bloodstream, they can trigger sepsis, a potentially life-threatening condition. These conditions originate from fungal infections in other parts of the body. The associated symptoms are caused by the fungi entering the bloodstream intermittently or continuously from other parts of the body, including the lungs, abdomen, and urinary tract. Therefore, the clinical treatment of these infections requires appropriate medication. To support scientists’ academic research more effectively, Creative Diagnostics has developed an animal disease model for fungemia research to evaluate the efficacy of new therapies.

Creative Diagnostics has developed a fungemia model in mice and can provide rat validation upon request. The company’s team administers a specific dose of fungal inoculum to the animals via intravenous injection into the caudal vein. Once the infection model has been confirmed as established, drugs can be administered via oral (PO), subcutaneous (SC), intravenous (IV) or intraperitoneal (IP) routes. Throughout this process, Creative Diagnostics can customize various study parameters (animal strains, pathogens, control drugs and dosing regimens) according to client requirements.

The company’s fungemia model services include developing custom infection models and providing in vivo antimicrobial evaluation services. These services also include assessing changes in colony-forming unit (CFU) loads in organs and/or blood, exposure-response studies, blood and tissue pharmacokinetic (PK) studies (e.g. brain, lung, soft tissue and bone), single- and multiple-dose PK studies, dose-fractionation studies, time-course studies, blood biochemistry testing, other tissue collections and histological analysis.

Creative Diagnostics has validated the fungemia model using pathogens like Aspergillus fumigatus (ATCC 3073) and Candida albicans (ATCC SC5314). To learn more about Creative Diagnostics’ Fungemia Model services or to request a customized project consultation, please visit https://antiviral.creative-diagnostics.com/fungemia-model.html.

About Creative Diagnostics

Headquartered in New York, Creative Diagnostics is a consulting and experimental service provider specializing in virology and microbiology. The company provides comprehensive solutions to conquer obstacles in virology and microbiology research, from high-security infrastructure provision, biosafety regulation elucidation, to expert viral system assistance.