Priorización de pruebas accesibles, rápidas y precisas para detectar hongos fúngicos

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended prioritizing the development of more accessible, rapid, and accurate pathogenic tests, especially in low- and middle-income countries where research infrastructure and available trained personnel are limited.

This was mentioned in the report «Analysis of the» In vitro diagnostic landscape «available and the development of priority fungal pathogens,» published on Tuesday. It states that there are over 6.5 million invasive fungal infections (IFIs) and 3.8 million related deaths each year, in addition to growing concerns about antifungal resistance.

In this context, the WHO analyzed the availability of diagnostic tests and those being developed for fungal pathogens, as their lack leads to underdiagnosis and, therefore, the spread of infections in low- and middle-income countries.

The development of products for diagnosing IFIs and determining their susceptibility to antifungals has lagged behind advances in other fields, including the diagnosis of priority bacterial infections, as warned by the World Health Agency.

The report details classic phenotypic methods for detecting and identifying fungal diseases, both manual and automated, as well as direct microscopy/histopathology and biochemical tests. It establishes that, although mycological diagnosis remains the backbone, culture is relatively slow and, when done manually, can be cumbersome.

While microscopy and histopathology can provide a quick identification of fungi, especially at a structural or generic level, the tests may not be sensitive or specific enough. All these methods require highly trained laboratory professionals, which are often lacking in small countries, limiting evidence to specialized laboratories in these countries.

By identifying and analyzing the diagnostic tests available today, the study concludes that, although there are a good number of diagnostic systems available, many tests have deficiencies, including prolonged response times, limited pathogenic coverage, as well as inadequate sensitivity and/or specificity.

Based on the identified deficiencies, low-level countries are proposed to strengthen their diagnostic capacity through various measures to be implemented in the next three years. These measures include investments in diagnostic services and training of qualified personnel, adopting policies for fair and timely access to diagnostics, and allocating resources for product research.

FUENTE