The Impact of the Fungal Priority Pathogens List on Medical Mycology: A Northern European Perspective

Maiken Cavling Arendrup; Darius Armstrong-James; Andrew M Borman; David W Denning; Matthew C Fisher; Rebecca Gorton; Johan Maertens; Ignacio Martin-Loeches; Varun Mehra; Toine Mercier; Jessica Price; Riina Rautemaa-Richardson; Rachel Wake; Natalie Andrews; P Lewis White

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofae372

The Impact of the Fungal Priority Pathogens List on Medical Mycology: A Northern European Perspective

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Jul 1;11(7):ofae372. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae372. eCollection 2024 Jul.

Authors

Maiken Cavling Arendrup^{1

2

3}, Darius Armstrong-James⁴, Andrew M Borman^{5

6}, David W Denning^{7

8}, Matthew C Fisher⁹, Rebecca Gorton¹⁰, Johan Maertens¹¹, Ignacio Martin-Loeches^{12

13

14}, Varun Mehra¹⁵, Toine Mercier^{16

17

18}, Jessica Price¹⁹, Riina Rautemaa-Richardson^{20

21

22}, Rachel Wake²³, Natalie Andrews²⁴, P Lewis White¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Unit of Mycology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
² Department of Clinical Microbiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
³ Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁴ Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK.
⁵ Mycology Reference Laboratory, UK Health Security Agency, Bristol, UK.
⁶ Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
⁷ Manchester Fungal Infection Group, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
⁸ Global Action For Fungal Infections, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁹ MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Imperial College London, London, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Infection Sciences, Health Services Laboratories, London, UK.
¹¹ Department of Hematology, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium.
¹² Department of Intensive Care Medicine, St. James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
¹³ Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, Universidad de Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁴ CIBERes, Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁵ Department of Haematological Medicine, Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
¹⁶ Department of Oncology-Hematology, AZ Sint-Maarten, Mechelen, Belgium.
¹⁷ Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
¹⁸ Department of Hematology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
¹⁹ Public Health Wales Mycology Reference Laboratory, UHW, Cardiff, UK.
²⁰ Department of Infectious Diseases, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, UK.
²¹ Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, UK.
²² Mycology Reference Centre Manchester (MRCM), ECMM Excellence Centre of Medical Mycology, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, UK.
²³ Institute for Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK.
²⁴ Napp Pharmaceuticals Limited, a member of the Mundipharma network of independent associated companies, Cambridge, UK.

Abstract

Fungal diseases represent a considerable global health concern, affecting >1 billion people annually. In response to this growing challenge, the World Health Organization introduced the pivotal fungal priority pathogens list (FPPL) in late 2022. The FPPL highlights the challenges in estimating the global burden of fungal diseases and antifungal resistance (AFR), as well as limited surveillance capabilities and lack of routine AFR testing. Furthermore, training programs should incorporate sufficient information on fungal diseases, necessitating global advocacy to educate health care professionals and scientists. Established international guidelines and the FPPL are vital in strengthening local guidance on tackling fungal diseases. Future iterations of the FPPL have the potential to refine the list further, addressing its limitations and advancing our collective ability to combat fungal diseases effectively. Napp Pharmaceuticals Limited (Mundipharma UK) organized a workshop with key experts from Northern Europe to discuss the impact of the FPPL on regional clinical practice.

Keywords: WHO fungal priority pathogen list; fungal diagnostics; fungal surveillance; mycology.

Publication types

Review