GAFFI meeting provides plan for integrating modern fungal diagnostic tools into routine care

September 09 2019

Only 9% of Latin American labs surveyed met the ECMM minimum standards of test provision. Last week a meeting in Lima brought together >60 experts who formulated a plan for improving access to modern fungal diagnostics, including PCR, MALDI-ToF and point-of-care rapid tests
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Importance of GM-BAL screening for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in liver disease patients

September 02 2019

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a well-known risk for severely immunocompromised patients; in recent years, however, the infection has been increasingly recognised as an emerging disease in non-neutropenic, critically ill patients.
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Candidaemia mortality is reduced by echinocandins only in the absence of septic shock

September 02 2019

Mortality from candidaemia presenting with septic shock was similar in patients initially treated with either azoles or echinocandins (~50% in each case). However, mortality in those with candidaemia but without septic shock was approximately halved by initial treatment with an echinocandin (14.3%) rather than an azole (32.2%).
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Hyper-endemic areas for histoplasmosis revealed in new SE Asian maps

August 06 2019

Researchers from Manchester (UK) and Jakarta (Indonesia) have published new prevalence data for histoplasmosis exposure for multiple countries in SE Asia. Sensitivity to the histoplasmin skin test was seen in a large proportion of the population (26-86%), so it is likely that rolling out the Histoplasma antigen test (now on the WHO Essential Diagnostics List) will help to diagnose cases and save lives.
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Skin biopsy distinguishes cutaneous leishmaniasis from lobomycosis in Colombian soldiers

July 29 2019

Lobomycosis (AKA lacaziosis) is an implantation mycosis endemic to the Amazon basin, caused by Lacazia loboi. Nodular keloid lesions grow slowly and can cause disfigurement. Biopsy of lesions shows many thick-walled yeast cells forming chains, which may co-occur with other infections (e.g. leprosy, leishmaniasis) or squamous cell carcinoma.
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