The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a report highlighting the first-ever list of 19 fungi that are considered to be the greatest threats to public health. The WHO Fungal Priority Pathogens List (FPPL) is the first global initiative to systematically prioritise fungal pathogens, taking into account the unmet research and development (R&D) needs and the importance thought to have for public health. Based on research conducted by the Australian University of Sydney, this report.
New research suggests that as a result of global warming, increased international travel, and increased trade, both the prevalence and geographic range of fungal illnesses are increasing globally. Invasive fungal infections were observed to occur more often among hospitalised patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The likelihood of more severe infections in the general population is rising as the fungi that cause common illnesses (such candida oral and vaginal thrush) become more difficult to treat.
Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance, noted that fungal infections were “emerging from the shadows of the bacterial antimicrobial resistance pandemic, expanding, and becoming ever more resistant to therapies, creating a public health concern worldwide” (AMR).
Three categories of importance
The three priority levels on the WHO FPPL list are critical, high, and medium.
- The crucial group consists of Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida auris, all of which have caused several outbreaks in hospitals all over the world and are highly medication resistant.
- The high group has a number of other fungi from the Candida family as well as others, such as Mucorales, a group including the fungi that cause mucormycosis or “black fungus,” an infection that spiked dramatically in very ill persons during COVID-19, notably in India.
- The medium group includes several additional fungi, such as Cryptococcus gattii and Coccidioides spp.
Treatment for fungus
Only four kinds of antifungal medications are now available, and there aren’t many candidates in the clinical pipeline, making fungal diseases a serious threat to public health, according to WHO.
Dr. Haileyesus Getahun, WHO Director, AMR Global Coordination Department, stated that additional information is required to inform and enhance the response to these important fungal pathogens.
Who is more susceptible to a fungus infection?
Patients with severe illnesses and those who have serious underlying immune system-related problems are frequently affected by these invasive fungal infections.
Cancer patients, HIV/AIDS patients, organ transplant recipients, those with chronic respiratory diseases, and people who have had post-primary tuberculosis infection are among the groups most at risk for invasive fungal infections.
