ABSTRACT
Again, fungi that were once considered nominally opportunistic pathogens have become notorious public health threats. This is especially true for hospitalized populations in which patients are being treated for unrelated ailments. During this same period, the world's population exploded resulting in demographic changes. Such changes have had economic and political effects upon the delivery of health care. Combined with the present relative ease of international travel, legal and illegal immigration has been facilitated making our world a true global village. As a consequence, the worldwide spread of particular infectious diseases is now being realized as more people are being exposed to new and exotic microbes.
