Fungal Pathogens Flourish in the Pandemic’s Shadow

(The Scientist) The World Health Organization’s first ever fungal priority pathogens list highlights the growing threat of fungal diseases and antifungal resistance. In a new list of fungal “priority pathogens,” the World Health Organization identifies 19 of these often-overlooked microbes that pose the greatest threat to human health. The report, released today (October 25), highlights the fact that “fungal infections are growing, and are ever more resistant to treatments, becoming a public health concern worldwide,” says Hanan Balkhy, the WHO Assistant Director-General for antimicrobial resistance, in a statement. The organization previously compiled similar lists for viruses and bacteria. More than 150 million severe fungal infections are estimated to occur annually, resulting in approximately 1.7 million deaths. But those numbers are based on incomplete data, which is why the report “aims to focus and drive further research and policy interventions to strengthen the global response to fungal infections and antifungal resistance.” For instance, fungal infections currently receive less than 1.5 percent of all infectious disease research funding, the authors note. The University of Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute’s Justin Beardsley, who led a group commissioned by the WHO that aided in compiling the report, tells The Guardian that funding levels are unconscionably low considering the “huge burden of disease” of fungal infections. “They’re causing as many deaths as tuberculosis, and more than malaria.” Those diseases respectively caused approximately 1.5 million and 627,000 deaths in 2020, according to the WHO.