Show Notes
Fungal infections and disease have long been overlooked in terms of healthcare burden, with poor diagnostics and limited options for treatment and management. In 2022, the WHO published its first Fungal Priority Pathogens List as an effort to establish a global prioritised framework that addresses unmet research and development needs in fungal disease and antifungal resistance, as well as guides public health action [1]. In this episode of Communicable, Angela Huttner and Josh Nosanchuk invite Hatim Sati (WHO), the project lead in creating this list, and Dimitrios Kontoyiannis (MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas), a clinician researcher studying fungal diagnostics and antifungal discovery, for a candid discussion on the making of and relevance of such a list. Apart from reviewing the fungal pathogens, the conversation also covers limitations of the list, what to expect for the next iteration, contextualising the list in one’s local region, and the impact the list has had already on research funding and public awareness. This episode was edited by Kathryn Hostettler and peer reviewed by Andrisa Xhaxha from Elbasan, Albania. References WHO fungal priority pathogens list to guide research, development and public health action. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022.
Related podcast episodes Communicable Episode 31: Climate change and fungal spread https://share.transistor.fm/s/db58f558 Communicable Episode 08: The nightmare series, part 1 – how to deal with Candida auris https://share.transistor.fm/s/c0616c4d
Further reading Seidel D, et al. Impact of climate change and natural disasters on fungal infections. Lancet Microbe 2024. DOI: 10.1016/S2666-5247(24)00039-9 Fisher MC and Denning DW. The WHO fungal priority pathogens list as a gamechanger. Nat Rev Microbiol 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s41579-023-00861-x Shor E, et al. Tolerance and heteroresistance to echinocandins in Candida auris: conceptual issues, clinical implications, and outstanding questions. mSphere 2025. DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00161-25 Panackal AA, et al. Geoclimatic influences on invasive aspergillosis after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Clin Infect Dis 2010. DOI: 10.1086/652761 Lázár-Molnár E, et al. The PD-1/PD-L costimulatory pathway critically affects host resistance to the pathogenic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. PNAS 2008. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0711918105 Mashal M, “A potentially fatal fungal infections cropping up among India’s Covid patients.” New York Times 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/09/world/india-covid-mucormycosis.html Thevissen K, et al. International survey on influenza-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (IAPA) in intensive care units: responses suggest low awareness and potential underdiagnosis outside Europe. Crit Care 2020. DOI: 10.1186/s13054-020-2808-8 Pappas PG, et al. Clinical mycology today: A synopsis of the mycoses study group education and research consortium (MSGERC) second biennial meeting, September 27–30, 2018, Big Sky, Montana, a proposed global research agenda. Medical Mycology 2020. DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myaa034 Hostettler K, et al. Communicable Episode 31: Climate change and fungal spread. CMI Communications 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmicom.2025.105126
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In this episode of Communicable, hosts Emily McDonald and Marc Bonten are joined by Sylvain Lother and Valentijn Schweitzer for a discussion on the use of macrolides in community-acquired pneumonia. Together, they examine the evidence for adding a macrolide to beta-lactam therapy, which patients may benefit from combination treatment, and how available evidence can inform clinical practice. Resources: AMMI Canada, https://ammi.ca/en/home/ Further reading Postma DF, et al. Antibiotic Treatment Strategies for Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Adults (CAP-START). NEJM 2015. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1406330 Qian ET, et al. Cefepime vs Piperacillin-Tazobactam in Adults Hospitalized With Acute Infection: the ACORN Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 2023. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.20583 Schweitzer VA, et al. Narrow-spectrum antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia in Dutch adults (CAP-PACT): a cross-sectional, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised, non-inferiority, antimicrobial stewardship intervention trial. Lancet Infect Dis 2022. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00255-3 van Daalen FV, et al. Management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults: Practice Guideline from The Dutch Working Party on Antibiotic Policy and Dutch Association of Chest Physicians. CMI Comms 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmicom.2026.105206
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