Building the First Australasian Fungal Disease Registry: Rising to the WHO's Call for Data
Invasive fungal infections are an increasing global health threat. Yet, surveillance data on their epidemiology in Australia and New Zealand are lacking. In response to recent calls by the World Health Organization (WHO) for national registries to fill these data gaps, we propose developing an easy-to-use platform for prospective data collection on severe mycoses across Australia and New Zealand.
The platform will be designed through stakeholder engagement to capture critical clinical information and optimize integration into routine practice. After optimising the system through a pilot study at two sites, we aim to roll out data collection nationally. This research will generate urgently needed estimates of local disease burden, resistance patterns, and treatment efficacy. The evidence produced can rapidly inform clinical guidelines and trials to improve patient outcomes. Overall, this collaborative project lays the groundwork for an Australasian registry that enhances real-time fungal disease monitoring and surveillance capacity.
The importance of this work is that it will provide, for the first time, comprehensive data on the epidemiology of invasive fungal diseases in Australia and New Zealand. This information is crucial for optimizing treatment approaches, identifying high-risk groups, and responding to emerging threats like antifungal resistance. The registry will benefit patient care by enabling evidence-based guidelines and clinical trials. It will also strengthen national surveillance and response capacity against fungal infections.
Our report titled WHO fungal priority pathogens list to guide research, development and public health action was published in October 2022. See https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240060241.
Dr Aiken Dao from the Sydney Institute of Infectious Diseases is an ASID member and the recipient of the 2023 ANZMIG Research Grant (awarded annually it aims to support and foster mycology research).
Dr Dao is receiving mentorship on the project from three long-standing senior members of ASID’s Australian and New Zealand Mycoses Interest Group (ANZMIG) - Assoc Prof Sharon Chen, Prof Orla Morrissey, and Assoc Prof Justin Beardsley.