Insights into the global emergence of antifungal drug resistance

The global prevalence of fungal diseases has escalated in the last several decades.Currently, it is estimated that fungi infect 1.7 billion people annually and result in 1.5 million deaths every year 1 .Deaths due to fungal infections are increasing, with mortality often exceeding 50%, further increasing to 100% if treatment is delayed 1 .Despite these staggering figures, the contribution of fungal infections to the global burden of disease remains under-recognised.In Australia, over a 5-year period fungal infections cost Australia an estimated $583 million 2 .The median cost for one invasive fungal disease (IFD) is AU$30 957, increasing to AU$80 291 if the patient is admitted to an intensive care unit 3 .Treatment of fungal infections poses significant challenges due to the small number of safe and effective antifungal drugs available and emerging antifungal drug resistance.Resistance to every class of antifungal drugs has been described and for some drug classes is extremely common 4,5 .More than 90% of all reported fungal deaths result from species that belong to one of three genera: Candida, Aspergillus and