Recent Advances and Future Perspectives in Mitigating Invasive Antifungal-Resistant Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus in Africa

AbstractPurpose of ReviewAzole resistance inAspergillus fumigatus is an emerging public health issue with global distribution and has been linked to use in agricultural and horticultural settings. In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) created a fungal pathogen priority list, andA. fumigatus was listed as a critical pathogen. Currently, Africa lacks effective surveillance systems for this emerging threat, mostly due to lack of capacity and diagnostics to determine azole resistance in routine clinical settings. This review aims to address and improve on the current diagnostic tools and future perspective strategies in tackling clinical and environmental antifungal-resistant (AFR)A. fumigatus in Africa. We emphasized on the importance of early diagnosis and misdiagnosis associated with aspergillosis caused byAspergillus sp., cross talk between clinical and environmental, mode of action and resistance mechanism, collaborative one health approach, and future perspectives for AFRA. fumigatus management strategies.Recent FindingsEarly diagnosis and effective management of invasive aspergillosis are critical. On the continent, very few laboratories routinely conduct antifungal susceptibility testing onAspergillus species. Where this occurs, it is culture-based in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing. Drug repurposing and the need for a non-culture-based molecular method (PCR) are critical.SummaryEnhancing promising future perspectives of non-cultured approaches such as whol...
Source: Current Treatment Options in Infectious Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research