Dr. Primali I. Jayasekera (MBBS, Dip. Med. Micro, MD), Consultant in Medical Mycology,
Head, Department of Mycology, Medical Research Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Email: Mailto
View the Fungal burden of disease in Sri Lanka: Article Is Fungal disease in Sri Lanka underestimated 2015; TIMMS poster 2014 burden of disease
Personal comment on the major needs in Sri Lanka which GAFFI should be addressing:I was trained at the Regional Mycology Laboratory, Manchester and at National Aspergillosis Centre, Manchester with Prof David Denning and Prof Malcolm Richardson.I am the only Medical Mycologist serving in Sri Lanka and my laboratory functions as the only diagnostic, reference & research laboratory in the field of Medical Mycology.We have a large aging population and increasing immunocompromised population following transplantation, chemotherapy and chronic kidney disease (mainly).In my country, diagnostic methods of fungal infections have to be improved eg: molecular methods, MIC detection for fungi, therapeutic drug level monitoring etc. The biggest challenge I am facing is there are no local agents for these reagents and also the unaffordable cost of the reagents (eg: Myconostica Aspergillus PCR kit costs about US $ 2275.00 for 30 reactions without the extraction kit)
Links to key fungal/global health institutions in Sri Lanka: WHO – http://www.who.int/countries/lka/en/ UNICEF – http://www.unicef.org/srilanka/