The Impact of the Fungal Priority Pathogens List on Medical Mycology: A Northern European Perspective
- Author: mycolabadmin
- 7/1/2024
- View Source
Summary
Fungal infections affect over a billion people worldwide but are often overlooked in healthcare. The World Health Organization recently created a priority list of dangerous fungi to help doctors and researchers focus their efforts. This review discusses how this list can improve diagnosis, testing, and treatment of fungal infections across Europe, while also highlighting the need for better training and awareness among healthcare workers.
Background
Fungal diseases affect over 1 billion people globally and are responsible for more than 2.5 million annual deaths. In late 2022, the WHO published the first fungal priority pathogens list (FPPL) to focus research and policy interventions on fungal diseases and antifungal resistance.
Objective
To discuss the impact of the WHO fungal priority pathogens list on regional clinical practice in Northern Europe, covering diagnostics, surveillance, education, guidelines, and One Health approaches to fungal disease management.
Results
The FPPL highlights critical gaps in diagnostic capacity, surveillance systems, and healthcare professional education regarding fungal diseases. Key findings address the need for improved diagnostics in low-middle income countries, strengthened antifungal susceptibility testing, expanded medical curricula, and One Health approaches to address environmental drivers of antifungal resistance.
Conclusion
The FPPL represents an important initiative to address overlooked fungal diseases globally. Implementation requires strengthening diagnostic capacity, surveillance systems, healthcare professional education, adherence to guidelines, and One Health strategies. Future iterations should address regional variations and specific patient populations.
- Published in:Open Forum Infectious Diseases,
- Study Type:Review and Expert Workshop,
- Source: PMID: 39045012, DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofae372