scholarly journals Estimated Burden of Fungal Infections in Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Abdullah M. S. Al-Hatmi ◽  
Mohammed A. Al-Shuhoumi ◽  
David W. Denning

For many years, fungi have emerged as significant and frequent opportunistic pathogens and nosocomial infections in many different populations at risk. Fungal infections include disease that varies from superficial to disseminated infections which are often fatal. No fungal disease is reportable in Oman. Many cases are admitted with underlying pathology, and fungal infection is often not documented. The burden of fungal infections in Oman is still unknown. Using disease frequencies from heterogeneous and robust data sources, we provide an estimation of the incidence and prevalence of Oman’s fungal diseases. An estimated 79,520 people in Oman are affected by a serious fungal infection each year, 1.7% of the population, not including fungal skin infections, chronic fungal rhinosinusitis or otitis externa. These figures are dominated by vaginal candidiasis, followed by allergic respiratory disease (fungal asthma). An estimated 244 patients develop invasive aspergillosis and at least 230 candidemia annually (5.4 and 5.0 per 100,000). Only culture and microscopy are currently available for diagnosis, so case detection is suboptimal. Uncertainty surrounds these figures that trigger the need for urgent local epidemiological studies with more sensitive diagnostics.

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (08) ◽  
pp. 777-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Abuga Guto ◽  
Christine C Bii ◽  
David W Denning

Introduction: Kenya is a developing country with a high rate of tuberculosis (TB) and a moderate HIV infection burden. No estimate of the burden of fungal diseases in Kenya is published. Methodology: We used specific populations at risk and fungal infection frequencies from the literature to estimate national incidence or prevalence of serious fungal infections. Used sources were: 2010 WHO TB statistics, Kenya Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Epidemic Update 2012, Kenya Facts and figures 2012, Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2008-2009. Results: Of Kenya’s population of ~40 million, 43% are under 15 years old and approximately 594,660 Kenyan women get >4 episodes Candida vulvovaginitis annually (2,988/100,000). The HIV/AIDS population at risk of opportunistic infections (OI) is 480,000 and the OI estimates include 306,000 patients with oral thrush (768/100,000), 114,000 with oesophageal candidiasis (286/100,000), 11,900 with cryptococcal meningitis (29/100,000) and 17,000 patients with Pneumocystis pneumonia (42/100,000). Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis following TB has a prevalence of 10,848 cases (32/100,000). The adult asthma prevalence is 3.1% and assuming 2.5% have allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis then 17,696 (44/100,000) are affected.  Invasive aspergillosis, candidaemia and Candida peritonitis are probably uncommon. Tinea capitis infects 9.6% of children in Kenya, while fungal keratitis and otomycoses are difficult to estimate. Conclusion: At any one time, about 7% of the Kenyan population suffers from a significant fungal infection, with recurrent vaginitis and tinea capitis accounting for 82% of the infections. These estimates require further epidemiological studies for validation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 910-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad T Hedayati ◽  
Mojtaba Tagizadeh Armaki ◽  
Jamshid Yazdani Charati ◽  
Newsha Hedayati ◽  
Seyedmojtaba Seyedmousavi ◽  
...  

Introduction: The number of fungal infections occurring each year in Iran is not known. As the burden of fungal disease is a measure used to assess and compare the relative impact of different type of fungal diseases on populations, we have estimated the burden of fungal diseases in Iran. Methodology: We estimated the burden of human fungal diseases based on the specific populations at risk, existing epidemiological data in both local and international databases, and modelling previously described by the LIFE program (http://www.LIFE-worldwide.org). Results: Among the population of Iran (79,926,270 in 2016), 6,670,813 (8.3%) individuals are estimated to suffer from a fungal infection each year. A total of 2,791,568 women aged between 15 and 50 years are estimated to suffer from recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis, annually. In addition, considering the 13.3% prevalence rate of tinea capitis in children, a total of 2,552,624 cases per year are estimated. The estimated burden of invasive aspergillosis in the 3 groups of patients with hematologic malignancy, lung cancer and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease was 6394 (8.0 per 100,000). The estimate for the burden of allergic disease related to fungi including allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, severe asthma with fungal sensitization and allergic fungal rhinosinusitis was 272,095 (340 per 100,000). Based on the 28,663 cases of HIV infection reported, an estimated 900 and 113 cases with pneumocystosis and cryptococcal meningitis are annually anticipated, respectively. Conclusion: Our estimates indicate that the importance of fungal infections is high but overlooked in Iran, which warrants further actions by health care authorities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 306
Author(s):  
Wadha Alfouzan ◽  
Faten Al-Wathiqi ◽  
Haya Altawalah ◽  
Mohammad Asadzadeh ◽  
Ziauddin Khan ◽  
...  

Fungal infections are an increasingly important public health issue, yet accurate statistics on fungal burden worldwide and in Kuwait are scarce. Here we estimate the incidence and prevalence of fungal infections in Kuwait. Population statistics from 2018 collected by the Public Authority for Civil Information were used, as well as data from the Ministry of Health. A literature search for Kuwait data on mycotic diseases and population at risk (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, HIV infection/AIDS, cancer, and transplant patients) was conducted. The population in 2018 was estimated at 4,226,920 million people: 1,303,246 million Kuwaitis and 2,923,674 million expatriates. We determined the annual burden of serious fungal infections number (per 100,000) from high to low based on earlier reported fungal rates for populations at risk: recurrent Candida vaginitis 54,842 (2595); severe asthma with fungal sensitisation 10,411 (246); allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, 7887 (187); chronic pulmonary aspergillosis 995 (21.3); invasive aspergillosis 704 (16.7); fungal keratitis 654 (15.5); candidaemia 288 (6.8); Candida peritonitis 63 (3.5) and oesophageal candidiasis in HIV 33 (0.8). Besides identifying rising new risk groups and expanding reports on antifungal resistance, surveillance programs and further epidemiological studies are needed to achieve more precise assessments of fungal disease epidemiology and correlated morbidity and mortality.


mSphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorian J. Feistel ◽  
Rema Elmostafa ◽  
Nancy Nguyen ◽  
McKenna Penley ◽  
Levi Morran ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe yeastCandida albicansis an opportunistic pathogen of humans, meaning that despite commensal interactions with its host, it can transition to a harmful pathogen. WhileC. albicansis the predominant species isolated in the human gastrointestinal mycobiome and is implicated in fungal infection, infections due to non-albicansCandidaspecies are rapidly rising. Studying the factors that contribute to virulence is often challenging and frequently depends on many contexts, including host immune status and pathogen genetic background. Here, we utilize the nematodeCaenorhabditis elegansas a perspicuous and efficient model host system to study fungal infections ofCandidapathogens. We find that, in addition to reducing lifetime host survival, exposure toC. albicansresults in delayed reproduction, which significantly reduced lineage growth over multiple generations. Furthermore, we assessed fungal pathogen virulence inC. eleganshosts compromised for innate immune function and detected increased early mortality, reduced brood sizes, and delayed reproduction relative to infected healthy hosts. Importantly, by assessing virulence in both healthy and immunocompromised host backgrounds, we reveal the pathogen potential in non-albicansCandidaspecies. Taken together, we present a novel lineage growth assay to measure reduction in host fitness associated with fungal infection and demonstrate significant interactions between pathogen and host immune function that contribute to virulence.IMPORTANCEOpportunistic pathogens are commensals capable of causing disease and are serious threats to human health. It is critical to understand the mechanisms and host contexts under which opportunistic pathogens become virulent. In this work, we present a novel assay to quickly and quantitatively measure pathogen virulence in healthy and immunocompromised nematode hosts. We found thatCandidaspecies, one of the most prominent fungal opportunistic pathogens of humans, decrease host fitness by reducing survival and impacting host reproduction. Most importantly, by measuring virulence in hosts that have intact or compromised immune function, we can reveal the pathogenic potential of opportunistic fungal pathogens.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 639
Author(s):  
Yae-Jee Baek ◽  
Yun-Suk Cho ◽  
Moo-Hyun Kim ◽  
Jong-Hoon Hyun ◽  
Yu-Jin Sohn ◽  
...  

(1) Background: Lung transplant recipients (LTRs) are at substantial risk of invasive fungal disease (IFD), although no consensus has been reached on the use of antifungal agents (AFAs) after lung transplantation (LTx). This study aimed to assess the risk factors and prognosis of fungal infection after LTx in a single tertiary center in South Korea. (2) Methods: The study population included all patients who underwent LTx between January 2012 and July 2019 at a tertiary hospital. It was a retrospective cohort study. Culture, bronchoscopy, and laboratory findings were reviewed during episodes of infection. (3) Results: Fungus-positive respiratory samples were predominant in the first 90 days and the overall cumulative incidence of Candida spp. was approximately three times higher than that of Aspergillus spp. In the setting of itraconazole administration for 6 months post-LTx, C. glabrata accounted for 36.5% of all Candida-positive respiratory samples. Underlying connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease, use of AFAs before LTx, a longer length of hospital stay after LTx, and old age were associated with developing a fungal infection after LTx. IFD and fungal infection treatment failure significantly increased overall mortality. Host factors, antifungal drug resistance, and misdiagnosis of non-Aspergillus molds could attribute to the breakthrough fungal infections. (4) Conclusions: Careful bronchoscopy, prompt fungus culture, and appropriate use of antifungal therapies are recommended during the first year after LTx.


Author(s):  
Alyaa A. Albadr ◽  
Ismaiel A. Tekko ◽  
Lalitkumar K. Vora ◽  
Ahlam A. Ali ◽  
Garry Laverty ◽  
...  

AbstractChronic fungal infection of the cornea could lead to blindness if not treated properly. Topical amphotericin B (AMP-B) is considered the first treatment of choice for ocular fungal infection. However, factors related to its poor solubility and penetration through intact cornea lead to poor bioavailability. Microneedles (MNs) are emerging as a minimally invasive method to enhance ocular drug delivery. This study aims to investigate the potential use of biodegradable poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and hyaluronic acid (HA)–based rapidly dissolving MNs for delivery of AMP-B to treat fungal infection. The data obtained illustrates PVP/HA MN arrays’ reproducibility, good mechanical strength, and faster dissolution with 100% drug recovery. Multiphoton microscopic results revealed that MNs successfully penetrate the corneal tissue and enhance AMP-B permeation through corneal layers. Furthermore, PVP/HA MN arrays showed high solubility. Both PVP and HA successfully decreased AMP-B cytotoxicity when compared to free drug. More interestingly, the biocompatible MN formulations preserved the antifungal activity of AMP-B, as demonstrated by significant inhibition of fungal growth. Therefore, this study shows the feasibility of ocular delivery of the poorly soluble AMP-B using a fast-dissolving MN patch. Graphical abstract


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Challacombe ◽  
M. Chidzonga ◽  
M. Glick ◽  
T. Hodgson ◽  
M. Magalhães ◽  
...  

Four oral mucosal infections were identified as Global Oral Health Priorities: (a) HIV and associated viral, bacterial, and fungal infections; (b) tuberculosis; (c) NOMA; and (d) sexually transmitted diseases. Huge global inequalities exist in all four. HIV-associated infections constitute the major challenge. Oral manifestations of AIDS can be specifically diagnostic, indicating a significant role for dentists within health teams. The World Workshops in Oral Health & Disease in AIDS have identified a research program, elements of which are being implemented. Data on oral mucosal involvement in tuberculosis, syphilis, and gonorrhea are incomplete in developed countries and virtually non-existent in low- and middle-income countries, indicating the need for further epidemiological studies. Oral manifestations of tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases are largely associated with general health, so action programs should be integrated with agencies treating the systemic diseases. NOMA is very much in the oral health domain. It is a preventable disease associated with malnutrition and unidentified bacterial factors. Prevalence is probably grossly overestimated at present; but nevertheless it constitutes a challenge to the profession, especially in the NOMA belt. Current treatment is surgical, but plans for its eradication should be achievable. The global oral health community, especially the IADR, has a major role to play.


2018 ◽  
Vol 103 (10) ◽  
pp. 1487-1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Lau ◽  
Aida Hajjar Sesé ◽  
Victor A Augustin ◽  
Geert Kuit ◽  
Mark R Wilkins ◽  
...  

PurposeTo compare the incidence of fungal infection after endothelial keratoplasty (EK) when donor tissue had been stored in hypothermic medium or organ culture.MethodsWe describe the clinical features of 10 cases of fungal infection (keratitis or endophthalmitis) following EK identified at three European centres. Case definition was the culture of fungus or a positive PCR from the host cornea or anterior chamber after EK. A survey of the incidence of infection after EK was conducted by the European Eye Bank Association. The main outcome measure was the number of cases in which donor tissue had been stored in hypothermic medium compared with organ culture.ResultsThe 10 cases occurred between 2014 and 2017. All donor corneas had been stored in hypothermic medium sourced from three US eye banks. Three pairs of mate corneas caused infections in six recipients. Candida spp were identified from nine cases, with one isolate of Purpureocillium lilacinum. Data on 16 862 corneas supplied for EK were available from 16 European eye banks for the 5-year period from 2012. There were 17 reported cases of infection, of which 15 (88%) were fungal infections and 14 (82%) were Candida spp. Fungal infection was reported from 3 of 14 476 (0.02%) corneas supplied in organ culture compared with 12 of 2386 (0.50%) corneas supplied in hypothermic medium (p<0.0001). The incidence of infection after hypothermic storage was similar for material sourced from Europe (0.52%) or the USA (0.61%).ConclusionsInfection after EK is strongly associated with Candida spp. The possible explanations for the higher incidence of infection when tissue is stored in hypothermic medium are discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian A. Myles ◽  
Satyen Gada

Patients with HIV/AIDS can present with multiple types of fungal rhinosinusitis, fungal balls, granulomatous invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, acute or chronic invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, or allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS). Given the variable spectrum of immune status and susceptibility to severe infection from opportunistic pathogens it is extremely important that clinicians distinguish aggressive fungal invasive fungal disease from the much milder forms such as AFRS. Here we describe a patient with HIV and AFRS to both remind providers of the importance of ruling out invasive fungal disease and outline the other unique features of fungal sinusitis treatment in the HIV-positive population. Additionally we discuss the evidence for and against use of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) for fungal disease in general, as well as the evidence for AIT in the HIV population.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Chan Chen ◽  
Ting-Shuo Huang ◽  
Yu-Chao Wang ◽  
Chih-Hsien Cheng ◽  
Chen-Fang Lee ◽  
...  

Background. Whether routine antifungal prophylaxis decreases posttransplantation fungal infections in patients receiving orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of antifungal prophylaxis for patients receiving OLT.Patients and Methods. This is a retrospective analysis of a database at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. We have been administering routine antibiotic and prophylactic antifungal regimens to recipients with high model for end-stage liver disease scores (>20) since 2009. After propensity score matching, 402 patients were enrolled. We conducted a multistate model to analyze the cumulative hazards, probability of fungal infections, and risk factors.Results. The cumulative hazards and transition probability of “transplantation to fungal infection” were lower in the prophylaxis group. The incidence rate of fungal infection after OLT decreased from 18.9% to 11.4% (p=0.052); overall mortality improved from 40.8% to 23.4% (p<0.001). In the “transplantation to fungal infection” transition, prophylaxis was significantly associated with reduced hazards for fungal infection (hazard ratio: 0.57, 95% confidence interval: 0.34–0.96,p=0.033). Massive ascites, cadaver transplantation, and older age were significantly associated with higher risks for mortality.Conclusion. Prophylactic antifungal regimens in high-risk recipients might decrease the incidence of posttransplant fungal infections.


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