<b>RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INVASIVE FUNGAL DISEASE AND FUNGI ISOLATED FROM IMMUNOSUPPRESSED CHILDREN’S FABRIC TOYS</b>

Immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to chemotherapy treatment. Hence, neutropenia makes children with cancer susceptible to infectious conditions. In this context, fabric toys bring comfort and coziness, are malleable and do not pose a risk of injury, but can be considered a focus of pathogenic microorganisms. The aim of this study was the identification of fungal species in fabric toys used by patients undergoing cancer treatment. Samples were collected through swabs soaked in Potato Dextrose (PD) medium directly from the surface of fabric toys, plush toys (B1) and comfort objects (B2), which circulate in hospital and domestic environments of children with oncological diseases. Six (6) fungal isolates of B1 fromthe genus <i>Trichoderma</i> and two (2) fungal isolates of B2 from species <i>Aspergillus niger</i> were obtained. Therefore, the method used allowed to identify fungal microorganisms present in toys at the genus and species level, and relate them to invasive fungal diseases that affect immunocompromised children. Furthermore, it points to the emergence of new studies that aim to seek means of hygiene of fabric toys that are safe and effective.This study indicates that two fabric toys circulating in hospitals and the homes of children with cancer contained fungi, with <i>Trichoderma</i> being the most common genus in one type of toy and <i>Aspergillus niger </i>in another. This suggests the need to study safe and effective ways to sanitize these toys to protect immunocompromised children from fungal diseases.<br>