The annual total of deaths from fungal disease worldwide has risen to 3.75 million, double the previous estimate, according to a new study.
In a paper just published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, new estimates indicate an annual total at about 6.55 million acute life-threatening fungal disease cases, using data from over 80 countries.
Though fungal disease has multiple causes, the updated mortality figures nevertheless dwarf deaths from other single pathogens, killing six times more people than malaria, and almost 3 times as many than tuberculosis, and many more than pneumonia (some fungal) and hepatitis.
This paper is a tribute to collaboration of over 300 professionals across the world who have published estimates for their country and individual fungal diseases, many under the LIFE-Worldwide program started in 2012.
A summary of the paper has been profiled in The Conversation.
What are new in this paper are:
Invasive aspergillosis in intensive care and lung cancer patients
Annual incidence and mortality of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis
Disseminated candidiasis with a negative blood culture
Pneumocystis pneumonia in non-HIV patients
Cryptococcal meningitis in non-HIV patients
Mucormycosis
Coccidioidomycosis
Mortality from severe fungal asthma (uncertain)
An estimate (uncertain) of the proportion of diagnosed and treated patients versus the undiagnosed patients.
Attributable mortality (68% of crude mortality)
What are revised are:
Crude mortality of these infections (3.8 million, double the prior estimate)
Overall estimates for invasive aspergillosis, disseminated candidiasis, disseminated histoplasmosis in AIDS (uncertain).
