Introduction
Yeast fungi (also called shoot fungi) belong to the microorganisms and are significantly larger than bacteria, for example. The medically most important yeast fungi are Candida (mostly Candida albicans) and Malassezia furfur. Candida albicans also colonizes the skin, mucous membranes and digestive tract of a large proportion of healthy people, but without causing symptoms.
As so-called opportunistic pathogens, many yeast fungi usually only cause symptoms under certain circumstances such as immune deficiency (e.g. due to diabetes mellitus, chemotherapy or AIDS) or antibiotic therapy. Similarly, Malassezia furfur colonizes the skin of most people without being noticed. In some cases, however, the fungus causes a spotty brownish discoloration, which turns white under UV exposure (pityriasis versicolor).
How contagious are yeast fungi?
Yeast fungi such as Candida albicans cannot be counted as a classic highly contagious infectious disease in that a large part of the healthy population already carries the pathogen on their skin or mucous membranes without becoming symptomatic. Symptoms in the sense of a real infection usually only occur in the context of a weakness of the body’s immune system, when the fungus can multiply unchecked by immunodeficiency or antibiotic therapy. Only under these conditions typical symptoms such as whitish coatings of the oral mucosa, itchy red inflammation in skin folds as under the breast, nailwall inflammation or a vaginal fungus with itchy, crumbly discharge develop.
Basically, yeast fungi such as Candida albicans can be transmitted via smear infections, such as during kissing or sexual intercourse, via fungus-populated mucous membranes. In most cases, however, this transmission does not lead to symptoms, but rather the fungus inhabits skin and mucous membranes without causing any damage. A transmission without direct, close interpersonal contact is not common (unlike infectious diseases such as measles).
How contagious is the yeast fungus during sexual intercourse?
Although yeast fungi can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, they are not considered a venereal disease in the strict sense. The majority of women suffer from vaginal mycosis at least once in their lives. Since fungi feel particularly comfortable in the warm, moist environment of the vagina, the vagina of healthy women is often colonized by yeast fungi such as candida without symptoms.
Vaginal mycosis is thus more often the result of an unchecked multiplication of yeast fungi (for example, under antibiotic treatment) and only rarely caused by an infection in the partner. In the case of frequent or chronic vaginal mycosis, it may nevertheless be advisable to treat the partner as well in order to avoid a so-called ping-pong effect (repeated infection due to colonization of the partner). Which could also be of interest to you: Treatment of a vaginal mycosis
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