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Emerging and less common fungal pathogens

Rhonda V Fleming1, Thomas J Walsh, Elias J Anaissie

  • 1Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.

Infectious Disease Clinics of North America
|January 7, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Emerging fungal pathogens, including Scedosporium and Fusarium species, often resist standard antifungal treatments. These infections pose significant risks, especially for immunocompromised individuals, necessitating new therapeutic strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Immunocompromised Host Research

Background:

  • Less common and emerging fungal pathogens present significant challenges in clinical settings.
  • Many of these fungi exhibit resistance to conventional antifungal therapies, leading to severe outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the growing threat of invasive mycoses caused by resistant fungal pathogens.
  • To underscore the limitations of current antifungal treatments against specific fungal species.

Main Methods:

  • Review of clinical case reports and epidemiological data on emerging fungal infections.
  • Analysis of antifungal resistance patterns in various fungal genera like Fusarium, Scedosporium, and Zygomycetes.

Main Results:

  • Invasive mycoses caused by Fusarium, Acremonium, Paecilomyces, Trichoderma, Bipolaris, and Trichosporon species are increasingly refractory to standard therapies, including amphotericin B.
  • Zygomycetes infections are frequently lethal despite aggressive treatment.
  • Scedosporium species can be completely resistant to antifungal agents.

Conclusions:

  • The rise of antifungal resistance in less common fungal pathogens is a critical concern for immunocompromised populations.
  • Continued emergence of these infections is expected due to antifungal pressure, environmental factors, and a growing immunocompromised host population.
  • Development of novel antifungal strategies is imperative to combat these refractory infections.

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