Question

Can some saprophytes cause diseases to humans? If yes, can you name some of them?

Answer 1

Dear student,
Saprophytic fungi or saprophytes usually live on decaying vegetation, such as sticks, leaves and logs, and are commonly found
throughout the environment. Their presence usually does not indicate disease. Special conditions under which saprophytes are potentially pathogenic are due to: allergic reactions, immunocompromised patients,
patients with a history of prolonged antibiotic therapy, patients with chronic medical conditions or disease such as diabetes, cystic
fibrosis, cancer, tuberculosis, etc.
Some diseases caused by them are as follows:

Thrush: Thrush is an overgrowth of Candida or yeast, generally found in the oral cavity of human infants, but can also cause foot rot
(cattle, sheep, goats) or thrush (horses) in livestock.

Mucormycosis: Mucormycosis is a rare and often fatal disease caused by one of the following fungi: Mucor, Rhizopus, Absidia, or
Rhizomucor.

Some other pathogenic saprophytes are :
Alterneria, Aspergillus, etc.

Thank you