The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the first list of fungal priority pathogens, which pose a danger to public health. The list includes 19 fungi that cause invasive systemic fungal infections, both acute and subacute. These have been categorized into three based on their public health impact and/ or emerging antifungal resistance risk into critical, high and medium priority.

• The critical priority fungi are Candida auris, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus.
• The high prioritygroup includes Histoplasma spp., Fusarium spp., Nakaseomyces glabrata (Candida glabrata), Mucorales, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis and eumycetoma causative agents.
• The fungi in the medium prioritylist are Lomentospora prolificans, Scedosporium spp., Pichia kudriavzeveii (Candida krusei), Cryptococcus gattii, Coccidioides spp., Talaromyces marneffei, and Paracoccidioides spp. and Pneumocystis jirovecii.

The report highlights the need for improving surveillance, support for R&D and public health interventions to prevent or reduce antifungal drug resistance.

Earlier in 2017, the WHO had released the first bacterial priority pathogens list keeping in view the rising antibiotic resistance.

Source: WHO fungal priority pathogens list to guide research, development and public health action. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240060241