An immune pathway has been discovered that prevents a normally harmless fungus from developing into a fatal infection. The King’s College London study, published in Nature Microbiology, provides the first potential clue as to why only certain patients with weakened immune systems, including those undergoing chemotherapy or living with HIV, are at risk of life-threatening Candida albicans infections.

Candida albicans is a fungus that normally lives harmlessly in areas such as the mouth and gut but can sometimes spread through the body and cause fatal disease.

If the results are confirmed in humans, they could provide a test to identify who is at risk of developing fatal fungal infections and represent a potential therapeutic target to reduce the risk of developing the disease.