Preface

A broad variety of fungi can cause fungal infections and lead to life-threatening diseases, typically in critically ill patients. Several risk factors are significantly associated with the development of invasive fungal infections, including immunosuppression, broad-spectrum antibiotics, total parenteral nutrition, mechanical ventilation, breakdown of anatomical barriers, and fungal colonization. Despite therapeutic advances in diagnostic techniques, prophylaxis, and treatment regimens, invasive fungal infections are still important causes of morbidity and mortality, and several groups of patients remain susceptible to these types of infections.

Fungi are heterotrophic organisms that can parasitize animals, plants, and even other fungi, using them as a source of nutrients. It is important to study these interactions in order to understand how these species adapt and cause infections in mammals. So, knowing how these microorganisms are distributed and how they respond to environmental pressures is critical for determining the epidemiology of the diseases they engender.

This book is organized in a collection of writings by experts from distinct research areas, aiming to provide up-to-date information on the epidemiology of fungal infections, host-pathogen interactions, the relationships between fungal growth and the environment, the use of fungal species to control soil parasites, and the antifungal properties of thiosulfonates.

On behalf of all the authors, I would like to warmly thank Ms. Sara Debeuc, from IntechOpen, who has tirelessly contributed to and assisted in the success of this publication.

> **Érico Silva de Loreto and Juliana Simoni Moraes Tondolo**  SOBRESP—Faculty of Health Sciences, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

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Section 1

Clinical Mycology
