Azoles Used in Agriculture as Possible Cause of Azole-Resistance in Clinical Candida Isolates

Abstract

Agricultural azoles are preferred antifungals used by farmers due to their high efficiency against broad range of plant diseases like leaf rust, leaf spots, and powdery mildews. The past few decades have witnessed an unprecedented rise in their usage for crop protection. These compounds can thrive in environment for several months and being fungistatic in nature, can cause imbalance in the ecology of fungal species in the environment. Further their heavy use can lead to contamination and residues in plants, water, soil, and development of human health risk. These azoles share the similar mode of action and structural properties with medical azoles that are used for the treatment of fungal infections. Recent years have also seen an exceptional surge in the number of multi-drug resistant nosocomial Candida infections, especially in immuno compromised patients. The present review is an attempt to show the plausible mechanism of cross resistance among Candida isolates to agricultural and medical azoles. The study highlights the requirement of thorough scrutiny of usage of azoles both in medicine and agriculture.