Poor Diagnosis Of Fungal Infections Ups Antibiotic Resistance

Fungal infections that are often poorly diagnosed worldwide causes doctors to over-prescribe antibiotics, increasing harmful resistance to antimicrobial drugs, resulting in 1.5 million deaths a year, according to a study.

The study showed that inadequate attention by physicians to fungal infection is the major cause failure of antibacterial treatment.

Fungal infections, often undiagnosed, result in 1.5 million deaths a year, said researchers from the Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections (GAFFI) – a Britain-based organisation to promote global awareness of fungal disease resistance, Perlin said in the study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.