The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

The Silent Crisis

The Silent Crisis

“Fungal infections are an overlooked emerging disaster” Kainz et al., Microbial Cell, June 2020

Invasive Fungal Diseases

 

Invasive Fungal Disease is the overlooked emerging health crisis

Fungal infections are increasingly becoming a global health problem that is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates as well as devastating socioeconomic consequences.
90% of systemic fungal infection-related deaths are caused by five species: Candida, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, Pneumocystis, and Mucormycosis

  • Candida species are most common in hospital-acquired infections

  • Aspergillus species are predominant in immunocompromised patients, i.e. cancer and HIV patients

  • Cryptococcus and Pneumocystis also contribute to the significant morbidity and mortality associated with invasive fungal infections

  • Mucormycosis has a low incidence of life-threatening infections compared to the other species, but is associated with high mortality rates

The extensive use over the last decades of safer but fungistatic rather than fungicidal agents, particularly of the azole class, has led to the emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) fungal pathogens. This situation is now recognized by the WHO as a global health threat

 

Incidence and mortality caused by select invasive fungi species
 
Disease
(most common species)
Location Estimated
life-threatening

infections per year
Mortality rates
(% in infected populations)
Aspergillosis
(Aspergillus fumigatus)
Worldwide >200.000 30-95
Candidiasis
(Candida albicans)
Worldwide >400.000 46-75
Cryptococcosis
(Cryptococcus neoformans)
Worldwide >1.000.000 20-70
Mucormycosis
(Rhizopus oryzae)
Worldwide >10.000 30-90
PCP
(Pneumocystis jirovecii)
Worldwide >400.000 20-80

1) Fungal infections in humans: The silent crisis. Kainz et al. Microbial Cell, June 2020, Volume 7, number 6