BURDEN OF SERIOUS HUMAN FUNGAL INFECTIONS IN MALAYSIA

oleh: Rukumani Devi Velayuthan

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Elsevier 2023-05-01

Deskripsi

Fungal infections also known as mycoses are likely to occur more frequently with the rise in sophisticated healthcare systems, which pose as a great risk factor. Currently, there is a paucity of systematic data on the incidence and prevalence of human fungal infections in Malaysia.During this talk, I will present my findings on the estimated human fungal infections in Malaysia, which was also published in a journal article in the Journal of Fungi in February 2018.This study showed that recurrent vaginal candidiasis (>4 episodes/year) was the most common of all cases with a diagnosis of candidiasis (n = 501,138). Oesophageal candidiasis (n = 5850) was the most predominant cause among individuals with HIV infection. Candidemia incidence (n = 1533) was estimated in hospitalized individuals, some receiving treatment for cancer (n = 1073), and was detected also in individuals admitted to intensive care units (ICU) (n = 460). In adults with asthma, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) was the second most common respiratory mycoses noticed (n = 30,062) along with severe asthma with fungal sensitization (n = 39,628). Invasive aspergillosis was estimated in 184 cases undergoing anti-cancer treatment and 834 ICU cases. Cryptococcal meningitis was diagnosed in 700 subjects with HIV/AIDS and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonitis (PCP) in 1286 subjects with underlying HIV disease. The present study indicates that at least 590,214 of the Malaysian population (1.93%) is affected by a serious fungal infections annually. This problem is serious enough to warrant further epidemiological studies to estimate the burden of human fungal infections in Malaysia.