WHO Releases First Fungal Infection List

Current Context: The World Health Organization (WHO) released the first-ever Fungal Priority Pathogens List (FPPL).

• The FPPL includes 19 fungi that could turn out to be a major threat to human health.
• The WHO also warned that out of these, some strains of fungi are highly drug-resistant.
• The list divides fungal pathogens into three categories:

1. Critical priority
2. High priority
3. Medium priority

• The critical priority group includes highly drug-resistant fungi Candida Auris, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida albicans.
• The high-priority group includes Mucorales, a group containing “black fungus".
• The medium priority group includes Coccidioides spp and Cryptococcus gattii.
• The WHO Director, of AMR Global Coordination Department, Dr. Haileyesus Getahun said that more data and evidence were needed regarding fungal infections and anti-fungal resistance to counter these priority pathogens.

Question:

Q.1 The first-ever Fungal Priority Pathogens List (FPPL) was recently released by?
a. The Lancet
b. WHO
c. ICMR
d. The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)