Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

[Candida emboli]

This week a Mungia audience wrote to us. In his message he tells us that he has a chronic illness and that he often has to go to the hospital to take medication by intravenous injection. The catheter appears to have created an infection caused by the fungus called candida, the probe used to administer the drugs, and he would like to know how these infections occur.

Most catheter-related infections are caused by a bacterium called staphylococcus, but, as in the case of our viewer, they can also be caused by a fungus called candida. These fungi live on the skin and take advantage of the hole opened by the catheter to enter the body. Thus, they travel through the interior of the probe and accumulate at the end thereof.

In reality, our defenses are able to eliminate these fungi, but immunocompromised people such as children, the elderly and the sick find it more difficult to fight them. When the candida reaches a certain size, it is released and travels through the blood vessels. For this reason, infections can occur in places that are far from the hole where the fungus was introduced. Additionally, a blood vessel that is too narrow may be found and occluded into a thrombus or clot. In any

case, this type of infection is usually avoided by frequent cleaning or modification of the catheters. That’s what we can tell our audience from here. As always, we remind you that you have the address teknopolis@elhuyar.com at hand to send us your questions about health issues.