March 2020
  Research highlight
 
Data are sparce for COVID-19 and Aspergillus co-infections.
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is a well-known complication of severe influenza, but data are lacking to show how commonly it causes co-infection in COVID-19 cases. So far, we are aware of three papers which describe cases of COVID-19 and Aspergillus co-infection.  
  • A single centred, retrospective study from Wuhan cultured Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus from one patient (2%). The clinical significance of this is not known.
  • A second paper from China reviewed CT findings from 51 patients and observed radiological evidence for Aspergillus infection.
  • A paper from France presents a case study of an 80 year old male from whom Aspergillus was isolated.
Full details and links to these papers are available on the LIFE Worldwide website. The page will be updated as more information becomes available.
  News and notices
 
We reported last month on the 9th Advances Against Aspergillosis and Mucormycosis conference in Lugano, Switzerland which ran from 27 – 29 February. Conference abstracts, slides and talks are now available on the Aspergillus Website. Posters and abstracts are also available from the AAAM conference website.
 
Meetings coming up soon
The 30th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), 18-21 April 2020. Has been cancelled. No online provision is available but a book of abstracts will be made available from the ECCMID website. More information.
 
Rise of the Fungi meeting (23-24 April 2020), as well as the Annual Meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Mycological Association (25 April) and The Public Engagement evening, Fungal Catastrophes (22 April, at the KNAW in Amsterdam), have been cancelled.
 
The 60th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Respiratory Society 24-26 April 2020. Has been rescheduled to 20-22 September 2020 and will now take place at the Kobe Convention Center. Registration is open.
 
Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada - Canadian Annual Meeting in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology 2020 has been cancelled. It was due to take place from 29 April to 2 May. Deferral of registration fees to 2021 is not possible. AMMI Canada – CACMID Annual Conference 2021 will take place from 28 April to 1 May, in Toronto, ON at the Westin Harbour Castle.
 
The 4th ISHAM-International Veterinary Mycology Course will be held in Romania from 7th to 11th September, 2020. Registration is open until 5th July.
 
ISHAM Asia 2020 will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from 6th-8th August. Abstract submission is open until 29th May.
 
  Research articles
 
Randomised Comparison of Safety Profile and Short Term Response of Itraconazole, Voriconazole and Amphotericin B in the Management of Chronic Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis. Debbarma et al., 2019.
This is a small but important study, the first randomised controlled trial for chronic invasive fungal rhino sinusitis (CIFS). It evaluates the short term clinical response to itraconazole, voriconazole and amphotericin B. The authors suggest that voriconazole may be the most effective treatment modality for chronic invasive fungal sinusitis compared to other commonly used drugs such as itraconazole and amphotericin B.
 
Evaluation of target attainment of oral posaconazole suspension in immunocompromised children. Lai et al., 2020
Invasive fungal infections are serious complications in immunocompromised paediatric patients that have had intensive chemotherapy or haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Antifungal prophylaxis can reduce incidence. This study investigates whether posaconaole is an effective prophylactic, it is increasingly being used off label, despite questions around efficacy and safety. The authors report sub-therapeutic concentrations and highlight the need for new formulations for children.
 
Polymorphisms within the ARNT2 and CX3CR1 Genes Are Associated with the Risk of Developing Invasive Aspergillosis. Lupiañez et al., 2020
This paper describes 7 potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the macrophage related ARNT2 and CX3CR1 genes and assesses the contribution that these SNPs may have in invasive aspergillosis (IA) susceptibility in high-risk hematological patients. The authors also conducted functional assays to determine the effect of these markers on the immune response to Aspergillus fumigatus. They report a consistent association with IA risk for 3 SNPs within the ARNT2 and CX3CR1 genes and immune response effects including impaired macrophage-mediated production of IL1β and exacerbated release of IL8.
 
Concomitant Presence of Aspergillus Species and Mycobacterium Species in the Respiratory Tract of Patients: Underestimated Co-occurrence? Dellière et al., 2020
This 7 year retrospective study in France, assesses the prevalence of Aspergillus and Mycobacterium concomitant isolation from respiratory samples, and depicts related clinical and microbiological characteristics. The authors report that co-infection is rare and note that further studies are warranted in order to fully describe the exact relationship between these opportunistic pathogens and the clinical impact of co-isolations.
 
The fungal CCAAT-binding complex and HapX display highly variable but evolutionary conserved synergetic promoter-specific DNA recognition. Furukawa et al., 2020.
HapX is involved in iron homeostasis and is crucial for fungal virulence. It interacts with the CCAAT-binding complex (CBC). This paper describes, using in vivo and in vitro analyses, the plasticity and mode of CBC:HapX:DNA interaction. It describes the cooperative DNA-binding pattern of HapX and the CBC which comprises a CBC-binding site with a consensus sequence and two 3’-downstream HapX recognition sites. The interactions are essential for full HapX functionality during both iron starvation and excess.
 
  Veterinary article
 
Spotlight on avian pathology: aspergillosis. Hauck et al., 2019.
This review describes Aspergillus species identification techniques, antifungal drugs available for use in food-producing birds, resistance and prevention strategies. It raises open questions about avian aspergillosis that research needs to address including epidemiology and serodiagnosis, as well as therapy and prevention.
 
  Reviews
 
Endobronchial aspergilloma—a comprehensive literature review with focus on diagnosis and treatment modalities. Ngu et al., 2019.
This review provides a comprehensive description of endobronchial aspergilloma (EBA), a rare manifestation of pulmonary infection with Aspergillus spp. It reviews the literature on endobronchial aspergilloma to further elucidate this disease entity and to classify it as a non-invasive form of pulmonary aspergillosis.
 
Development of Non-Immunosuppressive FK506 Derivatives as Antifungal and Neurotrophic Agents. Jung and Yoon 2020.
FK506, also known as tacrolimus, is a clinically important immunosuppressant drug and has promising therapeutic potentials owing to its antifungal, neuroprotective, and neuroregenerative activities. This review describes the mode of the antifungal action of FK506 and the structure-activity relationship of FK506 derivatives in the context of immunosuppressive and antifungal activities. It also discusses the neurotrophic mechanism of FK506 and suggests the possibility of generating novel FK506 derivatives as antifungal as well as neuroregenerative/neuroprotective agents.
 
T-Cell Antifungal Immunity and the Role of C-Type Lectin Receptors. Speakman et al., 2020.
This paper is a thorough description of the literature and reviews how C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) directly or indirectly modulate lymphocyte function in response to fungal infection. It emphasises the role of C-type lectins, and discuss how these receptors modulate these responses at different levels.
 
  Patients and carers
 
Patient meeting
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ll be delivering April's patient meeting remotely. We will welcome Prof Nikolaos Papadopoulos, Professor of Allergy & Paediatric Allergy at the University of Manchester, who will deliver a talk for us. One of Prof Papadopoulos's main research interests is the role of infections in asthma, so his talk should be extremely informative and interesting. We hope you can join us online this month. The meeting will be delivered on Zoom.
Other meetings and support
We host a weekly video phone call with around 4-8 patients and a member of NAC staff each week. You can use a computer or mobile device to join the video but you need to register in advance. This meeting runs from 10:00-11:00 BST every Thursday.
 
To receive a text reminder when each meeting is approaching send us your mobile phone number (NB this doesn't operate in the US) to admin@aspergillus.org.uk.
 
Join our Facebook Groups
  • Our Aspergillosis Support Facebook Group has over 2000 members and is a safe place to meet and talk to other people with aspergillosis.
  • We also have a Facebook group for carers, friends and family of someone who is affected by the disease - join here
  • To find our regional and international groups, search for 'aspergillosis' in Facebook.
 
Jobs
Clinical networks
Conferences
 
 
Many conferences have been cancelled or postponed as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. We advise you to check directly with the organisers of the conference you are interested in for the most up to date information. The conferences below are scheduled to proceed (correct at time of writing)
 
 
 
Veterinary Mycology Course, Romania7th to 11th September, 2020
 
 
54th Scientific Conference of the German Speaking Mycological Society. 3rd Interational Symposium of the CRC/Transregio FungiNet.Wurzburg, Germany 16th-19th September 2020
 
 
 
 
See more groups and societies
 
 
Visit our sites
 
(MFIG)
(MRCM)
(free online microscopy course)
(fungal education for clinicians)
 
 

     
Fungal Infection Trust, PO Box 482, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 9AR