
The University of Georgia is developing a novel vaccination that could target potentially fatal fungal infections.
Every year, fungal diseases kill around 1.5 million people globally. According to a University of Georgia study, the infections also quadrupled the risk of death in hospitalized patients and doubled the length of hospital stays.
Vaccination Against Deadly Fungal Infections
Because of antifungal treatment resistance, invasive fungal infections have recently become a major problem. If clinically approved, the new vaccine could provide a much-needed answer to this expanding problem and help prevent the spread of these infections.
Fungal infections are a huge public health issue that kills thousands of people each year. According to estimates, these illnesses kill about 1.5 million people each year and cost the economy billions of dollars.
These infections have a particularly severe impact on hospitalized patients, increasing the length of stay and doubling the chance of death.
A prior study conducted by the University of Georgia (UGA) discovered that fungal infections treble at the expense of hospitalization.
Despite the major burden of fungal infections, no effective vaccinations are currently available to protect vulnerable people from these illnesses. This demonstrates the critical need for a safe and effective vaccine to address this rising public health issue.
“There is a pressing need for both prevention and treatment solutions for fungal infections, especially among individuals with weakened immune systems,” Karen Norris, a professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine and the study’s lead researcher, explained.
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How Does It Work?

The newly designed vaccine targets the three most common fungal pathogens that cause the majority of deadly fungal infections. The vaccine’s efficacy was assessed in four preclinical animal models, including nonhuman primates, in the study.
The researchers utilized immune-compromised mice that mimicked treatment regimens typical among transplant recipients, HIV patients, and cancer patients – groups who are among the most vulnerable.
In all models, the vaccination was demonstrated to successfully stimulate the formation of protective antibodies.
In 2022, Justin Beardsley, an infectious diseases researcher at the University of Sydney, worked with the WHO to produce the Fungal Priority Pathogen list. Fungi, according to Beardsley, are “neglected” infectious microbes that cause significant infections, but their scope is mostly unknown.
He emphasized the necessity of studying existing and new fungal diseases, which have previously gone unnoticed. The study was co-authored by authors from the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and was published in PNAS Nexus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Georgia Research Alliance, and the University of Georgia Research Foundation all provided funding and support for the study.
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