Country Ambassadors

Beatriz Bustamante, Head of Clinical Mycology Unit at the Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt-Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima
Email: On request
View the Fungal burden of disease in Peru:

Bustamante B 2017
View The status of Pneumocystis jirovecii in HIV/AIDS patients in a hospital in Peru. García C, Ochoa T, Neyra E, Camargo J, Alvarez F, Bustamante B. 2019.
View the current status of azole resistance among clinical isolates of A. fumigatus in Lima, Peru. Bustamante B, 2020.
How you have helped GAFFI:
We have calculated an estimated burden of fungal disease in Peru.

On the other hand, we have received technical support from GAFFI in the preparation of a questionnaire in order to know the capabilities of the mycology laboratories in Peru, as part of the activities of the INKA Program “(Improvement National Knowledge and Awareness of fungal infections in Peru”) financed by the CDC and currently ongoing.
Personal comment on the major needs in Peru which GAFFI should be addressing:
Even though Peru has endemic areas for several mycosis (sporotrichosis, histoplasmosis and paracoccidiodomycosis), there still are significant gaps in knowledge about these diseases. As consequence, correct diagnosis is usually delayed and care is frequently inadequate. Training in mycotic diseases needs to be improved for under and post-graduate students, especially out of the capital city; and research and surveillance requires promotion
Links to key fungal/global health institutions in Peru:

Sociedad Peruana de Enfermedades Infecciosas: www.speit.org
Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt-Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia: www.upch.edu.pe/vrinve/imtavh/