Department of Microbiology, Abia State University, PMB 2000, Uturu, Abia State, Nigeria.
Department of Microbiology, Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, LS1 3EX Leeds, United Kingdom.
FEMS Yeast Res. 2022 Oct 26;22(1). doi: 10.1093/femsyr/foac048.
Invasive fungal infections are a serious concern globally, especially in African settings which are typified by poorly funded and fragile healthcare systems. Low performance diagnostics, limited therapeutics and poor societal awareness of invasive fungal infections are some of the perennial challenges which have contributed to the unacceptably high death rates from these serious infections. However, recent advances have been recorded in fungal diagnostics and therapeutics development. Research into the development of vaccines to prevent fungal disease is beginning to yield promising results. Here we highlight key successes recorded and gaps in this journey and argue that national governments and relevant stakeholders need to do more to prioritise invasive fungal infections. Pragmatic and context-specific measures are proposed to mitigate the peculiar challenges Africa faces in tackling invasive fungal infections.
侵袭性真菌感染是一个全球性的严重问题，尤其是在以资金不足和脆弱的医疗体系为特征的非洲环境中。低性能的诊断、有限的治疗方法以及对侵袭性真菌感染的社会认知不足，这些都是造成这些严重感染死亡率居高不下的长期挑战之一。然而，在真菌诊断和治疗方法的开发方面，最近取得了一些进展。针对预防真菌感染的疫苗开发的研究也开始取得有希望的结果。在这里，我们强调了在这一过程中取得的关键成功和存在的差距，并认为各国政府和相关利益攸关方需要采取更多措施，优先考虑侵袭性真菌感染。还提出了一些务实和具体情况特定的措施，以减轻非洲在应对侵袭性真菌感染方面所面临的特殊挑战。
