At their 64th General Assembly in Brazil, the World Medical Association adopted a statement on Fungal Disease Diagnosis and Management’.
The statement reads:
“The WMA stresses the need to support the diagnosis and management of fungal diseases and urges national governments to ensure that both diagnostic tests and antifungal therapies are available for their populations. Depending on the prevalence of fungal diseases and their underlying conditions, specific antigen testing or microscopy and culture are essential. These tests, and personnel trained to administer and interpret the tests, should be available in all countries where systemic fungal infections occur. This will likely include developing at least one diagnostic centre of excellence with a sufficient staff of trained diagnostic personnel. Monitoring for antifungal toxicities should be available.
Physicians will be the first point of contact for most patients with a fungal infection and should be sufficiently educated about the topic in order to ensure an effective diagnostic approach.
The WMA encourages its members to undertake and support epidemiologic studies on the burden of fungal disease in their country and to inform the national government of the results.”
The proposal to the WMA was prepared by Professor Arnaldo from Sao Paulo who commented: “This is the first time that the World Medical Association had considered the size and severity of the problem of fungal disease. Their proposal to ensure that essential diagnostic tests done by trained personnel in all countries is critical to ensuring better patient care.”
The Council of the WMA is international and is current chairman is Dr Cecil Wilson from Florida, USA. Professor José Luiz Gomez do Amaral, past-President of WMA, strongly advocated this statement about Fungal Diseases, as did many current members of Council.
Link to statement
