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Advances Against Aspergillosis (AAA)
Coming Soon
Useful links
Networking
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Patients Section
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Steph Smith Appeal
Gems little Gems
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Demographics
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The Effects of Indoor Mould on Asthma
 A comprehensive new review on childhood asthma thoroughly assesses the current understanding of the effect of multiple potential indoor causes of childhood asthma.
The following three actions were investigated as preventative measures:
- Avoiding or reducing the source of an indoor factor that might have adverse effects on the onset of asthma
- Reducing the concentration of, or diluting, the indoor air pollutants through increased ventilation
- Increasing air exchange rates or removal of dust.
Each preventative suggestion was weighed up for suitability of use against each potential cause of childhood asthma that has been researched so far. Factors influencing the assessment included practicality and affordability alongside the likelihood that it would help prevent asthma in children.
One strong conclusion of this study was that there is a strong need to avoid exposing children to dampness and moulds. The best way to go about this is to treat the sources of damp and ventilate well.
"it is time to act against exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, water damage and insufficient ventilation in order to prevent asthma onset in childhood. As a precautionary principle, more attention has to be paid for a general increased air exchange rate and active ventilation."
Latest News and Articles
 The Fungal Research Trust is 20 years old this year and plan to celebrate with a meeting for researchers and patients at the Medical Society of London (close to Oxford Circus Underground Station) on the 18th June 2011. There will be a patients meeting in the afternoon but everyone is also welcome to attend the morning session when we will be able to listen to a series of research talks given by people who have had research funded by the FRT.
Articles: There have been 138 additions to the Articles section (121 full papers), of which 7 are reviews and 48 historical. We have picked out a few of the highlights here:
Study on fungal flora of tap water as a potential
reservoir of fungi in hospitals in Sari city, Iran
Monitoring the water supplies in 4 hospitals in Iran confirms the findings of several similar earlier studies and demonstrates that fungi can be readily isolated from tap water – 77% of samples were positive for fungi with Aspergillus being the most commonly isolated genus including A. flavus, A.fumigatus and A. niger.
Water should be considered a potential source of infection, especially for immunocompromised patients. Routes of transmission include showers which are known to efficiently aerosolise water droplets, enabling spores to be inhaled.
Quality controls in medical mycology
This study asserts that current guidance (ISO 15 189) for quality control practices in mycology
laboratories are insufficient. They propose that a new set of guidelines written by COFRAC (French Accreditation Committee) specifying internal & external controls are more detailed and rigorous.
New measures include checking reagents & media, using reference strains of Aspergillus and preparing 'homemade' reagents (antibodies, pooled sera, pooled antigen controls).
The technical document covering the reqirements of much of these guidelines (LAB GTA 06) is available for download - currently only available in French.
 Restoration of anti-Aspergillus defense by neutrophil extracellular traps in human chronic granulomatous disease after gene therapy is calprotectin-dependent
Infecting Aspergillus hyphae have been shown to be prevented by neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) - see image on the right.
This paper now shows that this process is dependent on the presence of a protein called calprotectin. In CGD patients the neutrophils lack production of calprotectin. Restoration of the ability of neutrophils to produce calprotectin via Gene Therapy techniques restores its ability to produce NET's and was successful at restoring a patient's immune function sufficiently for them to fight of a pre-existing life threatening Aspergillus infection.
Aspergillus viridinutans: an agent of adult chronic invasive aspergillosis
The first report of this species causing a case of invasive aspergillosis.
Aspergillus infections in the head and neck
An overview of this specialised area of Aspergillus infection. Recent developments in diagnostic techniques for sinusitis have improved outcomes. Fungal balls in the sinuses are usually cured by surgery. Aspergillosis of the ear is related to prolonged antibiotic use and is almost always successfully treated with topical antifungals.
Reviews
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an emerging fungal disease
Patients with advanced-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have emerged to be at risk from Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis as a result of the overall improvement of long-term management of the disease.
β-D-glucan assay for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections: a meta-analysis
A total of 2979 patients (594 with proven or probable IFIs), included in 16 studies, were analyzed. The pooled sensitivity of BDG was 76.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 67.1%–84.3%), and the specificity was 85.3% (95% CI, 79.6%–89.7%).
 Historical Articles
Aspergillosis: a case of postoperative skin infection by Frank L, Alton OM (1933)
Fungous tracheobronchitis by Hoxie GH, Lamar FC (1912)
Pseudotuberculosis by H (1899)
Laboratory Protocols
LAB-GTA-06 and ISO 15189 added to a new 'Quality Control in Mycology' section.
We are always looking for more for our collection - please send your suggestions here
Conferences - coming up
Call for abstracts: ProkaGENOMICS 2011 - includes a medical infection genomics initiative.
Deadline April 15 2011.
47th Annual Scientific Meeting of the BSMM April 17-19 2011
Highlights of ASH in Latin America April 29-30 2011
Joint ECCMID/ICC Congress May 7-10 2011
Many more here...
Patients
Notes & slides from the latest Aspergillosis Patients meeting at the National Aspergillosis Centre (NAC) are available to watch here. The live presentation suffered from very poor sound and is unusable, but we do have a backup sound copy which will become available quite soon. This month we had a presentation by Dr Jane Mabey Gilsenan who is part of the genomics research team at the NAC. The talk explained how we use computers to process the vast amounts of data we generate with the aim of speeding up the development of new antifungal drugs. NB We have a new sound system in place for next months meeting.
Help the National Aspergillosis Centre carry out research. We are trying to contact patients willing to try to get their GP practice involved in some research with us on prevelence of ABPA and SAFS - we need details of respiration function of all asthma patients. The GP practice must be within 2 hours drive of Manchester. All you will have to do is hand over our documentation to the practice which will explain everything. If you want to help out please contact us at admin@aspergillus.org.uk.
Himalayan 100 mile stage race
 Lewis Fraser & Aaron McKevitt are to run one of the most demanding events in the world in aid of the Fungal Research Trust. The Himalayan Challenge (http://www.everestendurance.co.uk/) involves running 100 miles in 5 days at altitude and finishing 5000 feet higher than the start! This astonishing feat of endurance is in memory of Steph Smith who died tragically from an acute aspergillosis infection nearly 2 years ago. Lewis was Steph's partner.
Please donate in memory of Steph and in appreciation of this huge effort by Lewis & Aaron.
£500 donated already - many thanks to everyone who contributed.
Also don't forget to order your weekly shopping through our buy.at store - there are dozens of High Street stores to choose from and you will be donating to the Fungal Research Trust at no cost to yourselves!
Fungal Research Trust 20th Anniversary
The Fungal Research Trust are going to hold a second meeting for patients outside of Manchester in London on 18th June 2011. If you are interested in attending as a patient or carer suffering from aspergillosis please let us know Email
A patient volunteer is making & selling handmade cards for birthdays in aid of the Fungal Research Trust. 6 cards for £6 and 75% of that goes to the FRT. Order here.
There is a newly designed Patients website now entitled 'Aspergillosis Patient Support'. Much more comprehensive than before and easier to navigate but with the same successful support group (890 members) and Q & A board
Jobs
Fifteen jobs are currently being advertised:
- PhD Studentship: Isolation and Functional Characterization of Natural Anti-Candida Antibodies from Single Memory B Cells: A Novel Route to Fungal Immunodiagnostics and Immunotherapy, University of Aberdeen, UK. Closing date 31st March 2011
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Evolution of fungal pathogens within mouse hosts),. Singapore. Closing date 31st March 2011
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Genome evolution of fungal pathogens), Singapore. Closing date 31st March 2011.
- Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Infectious Diseases Sciences Program, Seattle, USA. Closing date 17th May 2011
- Nine MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowships in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Universities of Liverpool and Manchester, UK. Closing date 31st May 2011
- Consultant/Associate Consultant (Infectious Diseases), Changi General Hospital, Singapore. Closing date 7th April 2011
- PhD Studentship: Fungal Cell Wall Components and Co-receptor Stimulation of Cells of the Innate Immune System, University of Aberdeen, UK. Closing date 15th April 2010
Advertise your vacancy free of charge on the Aspergillus Website here.
*Optional donation to the Fungal Research Trust to cover costs incurred in providing this newsletter.
Courses and Workshops
We keep a listing of courses and workshops including 'one off' events and courses that repeat regularly. Course subjects are wide ranging and include medical mycology, lab ID, young scientists symposia and much more. Those coming up next are:
- Fungal Barcoding Workshop: Finding the Best Gene for DNA Barcoding. Amsterdam, The Netherlands 17-18th April 2011 Link
- Health Effects of Indoor Allergens, Molds and Endotoxin: Theory and Practice, Charlottesville, USA. 18-20 April Link
And certainly don't miss ESCMID Postgraduate Technical Workshop. Aspergillosis: from Allergy to Invasive Disease. Manchester, UK. 25 – 26 May 2011 Link
If you know of a course that should be added to this list please add it by contacting us here
Veterinary
Infectious and zoonotic disease testing in pet birds
Pet bird ownership and the veterinary diagnostic market for avian and exotic species testing have grown markedly during the past 20 years. Birds present with both unique infectious diseases and other diseases that are known to the human medical community, including aspergillosis, mycobacteriosis, chlamydophilosis, and bornavirus infection, some of which have clear zoonotic implications.
NB Vets in the UK in need of assistance with acquiring antifungals please contact us here
Blog
- Voriconazole therapy and flouride toxicity
- Secondary Prophylaxis with Antifungals for Leukemia Patients - recommended or not?
- New Treatment for Chronic Granulomatous Disorder (CGD)
- Childhood Exposure to Aspergillus Protects Against Asthma
Latest Books
NB Use these links to support the Fungal Research Trust
Latest Theses
Incidence and characterisation of mycoviruses from Aspergillus fumigatus by Atif Jamal, Imperial College London 2010. View
Molecular probes for mammalian chitinases by Amit Nathubhai, University of Bath 2010. View
Cell survival in response to oxidative stress in Aspergillus nidulans by Saeed, Sairah, Ph.D., St. John's University (New York), 2011. View
Technical Tips
Our discussion group (email and/or website) designed to promote discussion on technical issues for laboratory workers.
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Join the Aspergillus & Aspergillosis group to get in touch and keep in touch with your professional colleagues working in this field. All free of charge.
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