15
October
2015
|
15:30
Europe/London
Fight against disease goes global as Manchester professor publishes 15 papers in one day
- The number of people affected by serious fungal diseases in a population of 636 million in 15 countries
- Each paper provides a ‘tool’ for country advocacy for fungal disease and a baseline for future studies
Professor David Denning
Working with medical colleagues across the world, Professor David Denning has entered the history books by publishing 15 scientific papers on the same day – providing 15 countries with evidence to combat the burden of fungal disease.
In the journal Mycoses, Professor Denning and 47 co-authors from across the world have estimated the number of people affected by serious fungal diseases in a population of 636 million in 15 countries: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Nepal, Qatar, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Germany, Mexico, Senegal, Tanzania, Ukraine and Vietnam.
These estimates have never been attempted before and population rates from 1.7% to 12.5% were found. Each paper provides a ‘tool’ for country advocacy for fungal disease and a baseline for future studies.
Fungal diseases such as cryptococcal meningitis in AIDS and fungal asthma have been regarded as a low priority problems and expertise is lacking in many countries. Having published several papers on global frequency of single fungal diseases, Professor Denning has turned his attention to individual country estimate for all serious fungal infections, using a similar methodology.
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Fifteen papers published together is a once of a lifetime event but I hope that it’s just the start as we try to build a global picture.
Professor David Denning
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By estimating figures for each country the papers provide evidence for people to campaign for better treatment for a range of potentially fatal illnesses.
As well as the 15 in this round of publication, papers have already been released for Ireland, Spain, Nigeria and Israel. Brazil, Jamaica and Dominican Republic are in the pipeline.
Professor Mukesh Kapila, Head of Global Health for the University said: “Understanding how big a problem is in a given country and who is affected, is a key step forward for healthcare planning. Leadership of this neglected area of fungal disease has been lacking at the all levels in the global health agenda, so it is gratifying to see this void being filled.”
Professor Denning said: “I’m delighted that the years of work with friends and colleagues is now visible to help conquer the unaddressed scourge of fungal disease in so many parts of the world. Fifteen papers published together is a once of a lifetime event but I hope that it’s just the start as we try to build a global picture.”
Read the special edition of the journal Mycoses here.