A review article published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health catalogs the microorganisms involved in mixed respiratory fungal infections, where two or more fungal species — or fungi co-occurring with bacterial or viral pathogens — colonize or infect the airway. The authors highlight Aspergillus, Candida, Cryptococcus, and emerging Mucorales as the most clinically significant fungal contributors.
Mixed infections are increasingly recognized in immunocompromised patients, post-influenza and post-COVID patients, and patients with chronic lung conditions such as cystic fibrosis and severe asthma. The review notes that current diagnostic workflows still miss co-infections regularly because single-organism culture and molecular panels remain dominant in clinical microbiology labs.
The authors call for broader, syndromic respiratory panels and routine surveillance for fungal co-infection in high-risk patients, citing the higher mortality and longer hospital stays associated with mixed infections.