Whereas plant and insect infections are commonly caused by fungi, only a
small minority of the vast diversity of fungal species is pathogenic to
humans. Despite this, fungal infections cause considerable morbidity and
mortality worldwide. This volume is dedicated to the biology, clinical
presentation and management of invasive fungal infections. Major
pathogenic fungi are introduced by world-leading experts and the basic
principles of fungal virulence are reviewed in the light of new results
and experimental technologies that offer unprecedented insights into
invasive infections caused by Aspergillus, Candida, Cryptococcus,
Pneumocystis and Mucorales. In parallel, the clinical presentation
of invasive fungal infections and current approaches to their diagnosis
and treatment are summarized to provide an overview of human pathogenic
fungi, linking pathogen biology to the clinical presentation of disease.
