List Of Fungal Infections : WHO
The World Health Organisation released the first-ever list of fungal infections (Priority Pathogens) that can be a threat to public health.
- Fungal priority pathogens list (FPPL) includes 19 fungi that represent the greatest threat to human health.
- The list takes precedence from the bacterial priority pathogens list, first established by WHO in 2017 with a similar focus to galvanise global attention and action.
- It aims to focus and drive further research and policy interventions to strengthen the global response to fungal infections and antifungal resistance.
- The classification is based on the pathogen’s public health impact or emerging antifungal resistance risk.
- Critical Priority Group: It includes Candida auris, which is a highly drug-resistant fungi, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans.
- High Priority Group: It includes a number of other fungi from the Candida family as well as others such as Mucorales, a group containing “black fungus”, an infection which rose rapidly in seriously ill people, particularly in India, during Covid-19.
- Medium Priority Group: It includes a number of other fungi, including Coccidioides spp and Cryptococcus gattii.
