World's first centre to tackle more than 600,000 African fungal infection-related deaths set up

World's first centre to tackle more than 600,000 African fungal infection-related deaths set up

The world's first international research centre for tackling fungal infections which kill around 1.3 million people globally every year has been set up in South Africa by the University of Aberdeen in conjunction with the University of Cape Town (UCT).

The majority of global deaths related to fungal infections happen in Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa.

In this part of the world, fungal infections contribute to between 600,000 to one million deaths – more than malaria and around the same number of deaths as tuberculosis.

In sub-Saharan Africa, around 50% of people diagnosed with invasive fungal infections die as a result of the infection. For example, in 2008, there were 1 million cases of cryptococcal meningitis in patients with HIV/AIDS, resulting in more than 500,000 related deaths.

Now the University of Aberdeen’s internationally recognised Aberdeen Fungal Group (AFG), is to establish the world’s first research centre focussed on tackling these diseases in Africa.

The £600,000 University of Aberdeen AFGrica Unit will be based at UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, headed by Professor Valerie Mizrahi.

The new unit will give the Aberdeen Fungal Group experts a centre of operations in Africa where they can work in collaboration with UCT experts to establish research programmes that can target the priority areas in fungal diseases that are relevant to the continent.

The development supports the ongoing objectives and activities of the prestigious MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, set up at the University of Aberdeen in February 2016. It also builds on an existing Wellcome Trust-funded Strategic Award (led by the Aberdeen Fungal Group), where PhD students from low and middle-income nations (including Africa) are trained in Aberdeen and other medical mycology Centres in the rest of the UK. Upon obtaining their degree, these students then return home with their new skills to help address critical fungal research and training needs in their own countries.

“Fungal infections are understudied and under-diagnosed compared with other infectious diseases, despite their contribution to so many deaths every year,” explains Professor Gordon Brown from the University of Aberdeen Fungal Group, who is leading the setup of the AFGrica Unit.

“Fungal infections kill more people in Africa than anywhere else on the planet. The AFGrica Unit is a unique opportunity to address the urgent need to improve basic knowledge and clinical management of fungal infections in Africa.

“This research and training centre gives us a foothold in Africa and the opportunity to collaborate with our colleagues at UCT to create a truly unique facility that will advance research to combat fungal killers, and just as importantly, to train more African experts specialising in this area.” 

"This is a wonderful opportunity to develop a centre of excellence for fungal infections on the African continent. We will have the opportunity to extend the pioneering clinical research on fungal infections taking place at UCT, by collaborating with scientists studying the biology and immunology of fungal infections at the world-leading centre in Aberdeen,” says Professor Mark Nicol, head of UCT’s Division of Medical Microbiology in the Department of Pathology, and member of the IDM.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen added: “The University of Aberdeen is an outward-looking, global institution, committed to changing the world with better research and teaching and the new AFGrica Centre is a prime example of these core values.

“The expertise of our world-leading Aberdeen Fungal Group is recognised across the globe and this important partnership with the University of Cape Town will put our experts on the front line in the fight against these infections that currently prove deadly to so many people, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.”

“The establishment of the AFGrica Unit in the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine will enhance the excellent clinical and basic research that is taking placed on cryptococcal meningitis and other fungal diseases in the Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT. This initiative will also contribute to the training of a new generation of African scientific leaders, who will produce high-quality research to combat the scourge of fungal infections in Africa,” added Professor Bongani Mayosi, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT.

Search News

Browse by Month

2024

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2024
  3. Mar
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2024
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2024
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2024
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2024
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2024
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2024
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2024
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2024
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2024

2023

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2023
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2023
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2023
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2023
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2023
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2023
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2023
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2023
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2023
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2023
  12. Dec

2022

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2022
  3. Mar
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2022
  5. May
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2022
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2022
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2022
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2022

2021

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2021
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2020

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2020
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2020
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2020
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2019

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2019
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2018

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2018
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2018
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2018
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2018
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2018
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2018
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2017

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2017
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2017
  9. Sep
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2017
  11. Nov
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2017

2016

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2016
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2016
  12. Dec

2014

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2014
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2012

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2012
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2012
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2012
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2012
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2012
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2012
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2012
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2012
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2012
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2012