An estimated 40% to 60% of healthy people carry Candida albicans harmlessly as part of the body’s normal microbial community.

But in people with weakened immune systems, it can enter the bloodstream and trigger invasive candidiasis, a condition with mortality rates approaching 50%.

The research, conducted using zebrafish models and human immune cells, showed that restoring this suppressed immune response dramatically improved survival from infection, particularly when combined with existing antifungal drugs. The work is published in the journal mBio.