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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Infections
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Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Infections

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2021) | Viewed by 8082

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cristina Veríssimo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Infectious Diseases Department, Mycology Reference Laboratory, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: Fungal Infections; PCR diagnostic of mould and dimorphic fungal infections; antifungal susceptibility characterization
Dr. Raquel Sabino

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Reference Unit for Parasitic and Fungal Infections, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health, Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: fungal infections diagnosis; Aspergillus; fungi; infectious diseases; fungal epidemiology and public health; antifungal resistance; molecular biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungal infections are assuming higher relevance, and many factors have been contributing to the emergence of invasive fungal infections, including the HIV epidemic, the rise in the number of patients receiving a growing array of immunosuppressive therapies, and the increasing number of persons who have frequent nosocomial exposure and interventions. This increasing incidence is not just among transplanted patients and other immunocompromised individuals but also in critically ill patients, including patients without classical risk factors of immunosuppression, such as COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) or invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with influenza (IAPA) admitted to an intensive care unit.

The emergence of new fungal pathogens and the resurgence of mycotic diseases that had previously been uncommon constitute a serious and growing public health problem. New species, such as Candida auris, are now categorized as a public health threat due to several outbreaks all over the world. The dimorphic fungi, Emergomyces, unknown until recently, is also implicated as a cause of disease in immunocompromised persons.

All these issues open the door to a new world of possibilities yet to be investigated. As result, clinicians and microbiologists need to be familiar with the epidemiology of fungal infections, as well as their clinical presentation, methods for diagnosis and current treatment choices.

This Special Issue aims to provide an insight into the current epidemiology of emerging invasive fungal infections with special reference to emergent fungal pathogen, their prevalence, outbreaks, and emergence of antifungal resistance reported from different hospital wards.

Dr. Cristina Veríssimo
Dr. Raquel Sabino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • invasive fungal infections
  • diagnosis of fungal diseases
  • epidemiology of fungal infections
  • emergent fungal pathogens

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 290 KiB  
Article
Invasive and Subcutaneous Infections Caused by Filamentous Fungi: Report from a Portuguese Multicentric Surveillance Program
by Cristina Veríssimo, Cristina Toscano, Teresa Ferreira, Gabriela Abreu, Helena Simões, José Diogo, Dinah Carvalho, Felicidade Santiago, Ana Lima, Ana Maria Queirós and Raquel Sabino
Microorganisms 2022, 10(5), 1010; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10051010 - 11 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2464
Abstract
Invasive fungal infections (IFI) have significantly increased over the past years due to advances in medical care for the at-risk immunocompromised population. IFI are often difficult to diagnose and manage, and can be associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. This study aims to [...] Read more.
Invasive fungal infections (IFI) have significantly increased over the past years due to advances in medical care for the at-risk immunocompromised population. IFI are often difficult to diagnose and manage, and can be associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. This study aims to contribute to understanding the etiology of invasive and subcutaneous fungal infections, their associated risk factors, and to perceive the outcome of patients who developed invasive disease, raising awareness of these infections at a local level but also in a global context. A laboratory surveillance approach was conducted over a seven-year period and included: (i) cases of invasive and subcutaneous fungal infections caused by filamentous/dimorphic fungi, confirmed by either microscopy or positive culture from sterile samples, (ii) cases diagnosed as probable IFI according to the criteria established by EORTC/MSG when duly substantiated. Fourteen Portuguese laboratories were enrolled. Cases included in this study were classified according to the new consensus definitions of invasive fungal diseases (IFD) published in 2020 as follows: proven IFI (N = 31), subcutaneous fungal infection (N = 23). Those proven deep fungal infections (N = 54) totalized 71.1% of the total cases, whereas 28.9% were classified as probable IFI (N = 22). It was possible to identify the etiological fungal agent in 73 cases (96%). Aspergillus was the most frequent genera detected, but endemic dimorphic fungi represented 14.47% (N = 11) of the total cases. Despite the small number of cases, a high diversity of species were involved in deep fungal infections. This fact has implications for clinical and laboratory diagnosis, and on the therapeutic management of these infections, since different species, even within the same genus, can present diverse patterns of susceptibility to antifungals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Infections)
9 pages, 540 KiB  
Article
Incidence of Histoplasmosis in a Cohort of People with HIV: From Estimations to Reality
by Narda Medina, Juan Luis Rodriguez-Tudela, Luis Aguirre, Luis R. Salazar, Osmar Gamboa, Oscar Bonilla, Juan C. Pérez, Eduardo Arathoon, David W. Denning and Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo
Microorganisms 2021, 9(12), 2596; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9122596 - 16 Dec 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3098
Abstract
Among people with HIV, histoplasmosis represents an important cause of mortality. Previous studies provided estimates of the disease incidence. Here, we compared those estimates with the results obtained from a screening program implemented in Guatemala, which included histoplasmosis detection for people with HIV. [...] Read more.
Among people with HIV, histoplasmosis represents an important cause of mortality. Previous studies provided estimates of the disease incidence. Here, we compared those estimates with the results obtained from a screening program implemented in Guatemala, which included histoplasmosis detection for people with HIV. To compare the results of this program with previous estimations, a literature search was performed and reports concerning histoplasmosis incidence were analyzed. The screening program enrolled 6366 patients. The overall histoplasmosis incidence in the screening program was 7.4%, which was almost double that estimated in previous studies. From 2017 to 2019, the screening program showed an upward trend in histoplasmosis cases from 6.5% to 8.8%. Histoplasmosis overall mortality among those who were newly HIV diagnosed showed a decrease at 180 days from 32.8% in 2017 to 21.2% in 2019. The screening approach using rapid diagnostic assays detects histoplasmosis cases more quickly, allowing a specific treatment to be administered, which decreases the mortality of the disease. Therefore, the use of these new techniques, especially in endemic areas of histoplasmosis, must be implemented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Infections)
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12 pages, 1654 KiB  
Communication
Risk Assessment for Molds in the Vicinity of a Child Requiring Peritoneal Dialysis Living in a Rural Northern German Area
by Andreas Erich Zautner, Hagen Frickmann and Andreas Podbielski
Microorganisms 2021, 9(11), 2292; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9112292 - 4 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1465
Abstract
As well as severe immunosuppression, other predisposing factors may facilitate invasive mycosis caused by molds. Chronic kidney disease and the resulting peritoneal dialysis have been reported as factors putting patients at risk of fungal infections from environmental sources. We describe an environmental investigation [...] Read more.
As well as severe immunosuppression, other predisposing factors may facilitate invasive mycosis caused by molds. Chronic kidney disease and the resulting peritoneal dialysis have been reported as factors putting patients at risk of fungal infections from environmental sources. We describe an environmental investigation undertaken to guide exposure prevention for a peritoneal dialysis patient with transient colonization of her nostrils by Lichtheimia corymbifera in a rural area of northern Germany. Systematic screening for airborne and surface-deposited molds enabled targeted recommendations to be made, although Lichtheimia corymbifera itself was not grown from the collected environmental samples. This communication is intended to illustrate how such an investigation can be performed on the basis of the environmental distribution of the molds and how preventive recommendations can be derived from the results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Infections)
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