The Compromised Host as Sentinel Chicken

Abstract

The factors leading to invasive fungal infection in the compromised host can be divided into two general categories: the intensity of the epidemiologic exposure to which the individual has been subjected and the net state of immunosuppression or host-defense compromise that is present. In this issue of the Journal, Allo et al.¹ report on a cluster of nine patients with hematologic malignant disease in whom invasive primary cutaneous aspergillosis developed at the site of insertion of a Hickman intravenous catheter. This outbreak is an important example of how an excessive nosocomial hazard can cause life-threatening opportunistic infection in a . . .