WHO first ever list of Fungal Priority Pathogens

The fungal priority pathogens list (FPPL)-

• The FPPL is the first global effort to systematically prioritize fungal pathogens, considering the unmet research and development (R&D) needs and the perceived public health importance. 
• The WHO FPPL aims to focus and drive further research and policy interventions to strengthen the global response to fungal infections and antifungal resistance.
• It includes 19 fungi that represent the greatest threat to human health. The UN body warned that some strains are increasingly drug-resistant and are growing at an alarming rate.
• Emerging from the shadows of the bacterial antimicrobial resistance pandemic, fungal infections are growing, and are ever more resistant to treatments, becoming a public health concern worldwide.
• The WHO FPPL is divided into three categories — critical, high and medium priority. 
• These fungal pathogens are ranked in each priority category based on their impact on public health and/or emerging antifungal resistance risk.
• The critical group includes Candida auris, which is a highly drug-resistant fungi, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans.
• The high priority group includes a number of other fungi from the Candida family as well as others such as Mucorales, a group containing “black fungus”, an infection which rose rapidly in seriously ill people, particularly in India, during Covid-19.
• The medium priority group lists a number of other fungi, including Coccidioides spp and Cryptococcus gattii.