What is Candida Antigen (Cell Wall Components)?
Candida antigen detection identifies fungal cell-wall components (such as mannan or beta-glucan) in serum or dried blood, indicating active fungal presence. Antigenaemia is uncommon in healthy individuals and is most often seen in invasive candidiasis, where it precedes or accompanies positive blood cultures. In the functional medicine literature circulating antigen is occasionally interpreted as evidence of intestinal translocation, though this is not a mainstream infectious-disease application.