The World Health Organization has released the first-ever list of fungal infections that pose a threat to human health. The fungal priority pathogens list (FPPL), which includes 19 fungi, was released with a warning that some strains are increasingly drug-resistant and are spreading at alarming rates. The U.N. body noted that fungal infections and their increasing resistance to treatment are a growing risk to mankind due to a lack of focus, lack of knowledge, surveillance, treatments, and diagnostics.

According to the agency, the invasive forms of these fungal pathogens can affect severely ill patients, especially those with cancer, HIV/AIDS, organ transplants, chronic respiratory disease, post-primary tuberculosis infection, and those with underlying immune system-related conditions.

The WHO FPPL is divided into three categories, i.e., critical, high, and medium priority based on their impact on public health and/or emerging antifungal resistance risk.

The critical group included Candida auris, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans. In the high group priority group, several fungi from the Candida family as well as the Mucorales family were included. Mucorales is a group of fungi that caused mucormycosis, or "black fungus" infection among seriously ill people during COVID-19 in India. The medium group listed several other fungi, including Coccidioides spp. and Cryptococcus gattii.

Dr. Haileyesus Getahun, WHO Director, AMR Global Coordination Department, stressed that countries should follow a stepwise approach, starting with strengthening their fungal disease laboratory and surveillance capacities and ensuring equitable access to existing quality therapeutics and diagnostics globally.