Fungal infections: rising threats, diagnostic challenges, and the path forward for clinical microbiology laboratories

Fungal diseases are becoming a growing global health concern, with an estimated annual incidence of 6.5 million cases of invasive fungal infections and approximately 3.8 million associated deaths, including approximately 2.5 million directly attributable to fungal infections [1]. The World Health Organization, in its first fungal priority pathogen list, identified 19 major fungal pathogens posing considerable public health threats, with Candida albicans, Candida auris, and Cryptococcus neoformans classified as critical fungal pathogens [2]. Moreover, since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the prevalence of fungal pathogen interactions has increased significantly in immunosuppressed patients, with reported mortality rates exceeding 50% in cases of coinfection [3].