Fungal diseases are usually treated with a group of drugs called antifungals. There are thousands of different kinds of fungi. About 200 can cause disease in people. Many fungi are so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye. They live in animal feces, in soil, on dying plants and in the bark of some trees.
People can become infected with fungi through breathing.
Other kinds of fungi live on human skin, in the mouth, intestines, vagina and anus. One of these fungi is called Candida , which may cause serious disease when a person's immune system becomes weakened. Fungal infections usually do not cause serious diseases in people with healthy immune systems, whether they are HIV positive or not. One of the more common fungal infections that people can get is called athlete's foot. Athlete's foot is an irritating, itchy rash on the feet that many people get from walking barefoot in damp public areas, such as public showers, near swimming pools or in gyms.