The current state of clinical mycology in Africa: a European Confederation of Medical Mycology and International Society for Human and Animal Mycology survey

Africa, although not unique in this context, is a favourable environment for fungal infections, given the high burden of risk factors. An online survey was developed asking about laboratory infrastructure and antifungal drug availability. We received 40 responses (24.4% response rate) of 164 researchers contacted from 21 African countries. Only five institutions (12.5%) of 40 located in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda potentially fulfilled the minimum laboratory requirements for European Confederation of Medical Mycology Excellence Centre blue status. Difficulties included low access to susceptibility testing for both yeasts and moulds (available in only 30% of institutions) and Aspergillus spp antigen detection (available in only 47.5% of institutions as an in-house or outsourced test), as well as access to mould-active antifungal drugs such as amphotericin B deoxycholate (available for 52.5% of institutions), itraconazole (52.5%), voriconazole (35.0%), and posaconazole (5.0%). United and targeted efforts are crucial to face the growing challenges in clinical mycology.

Automated summary

Africa is a favorable environment for fungal infections due to high risk factors, but there are significant challenges in terms of laboratory infrastructure and availability of antifungal drugs in many African countries.