Nomenclature for human and animal fungal pathogens and diseases: a proposal for standardized terminology

Sybren de Hoog^{1

2}, Thomas J Walsh^{3

4}, Sarah A Ahmed^{1

2}, Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo^{5

6}, Maiken Cavling Arendrup^{7

8}, Andrew Borman⁹, Sharon Chen¹⁰, Anuradha Chowdhary^{11

12}, Robert C Colgrove¹³, Oliver A Cornely^{14

15}, David W Denning¹⁶, Philippe J Dufresne¹⁷, Laura Filkins¹⁸, Jean-Pierre Gangneux¹⁹, Josepa Gené²⁰, Andreas H Groll²¹, Jaques Guillot²², Gerhard Haase²³, Catriona Halliday¹⁰, David L Hawksworth^{24

25

26

27}, Roderick Hay²⁸, Martin Hoenigl^{29

30}, Vit Hubka³¹, Tomasz Jagielski³², Hazal Kandemir³³, Sarah E Kidd^{34

35}, Julianne V Kus^{36

37}, June Kwon-Chung³⁸, Shawn R Lockhart³⁹, Jacques F Meis^{1

14

15}, Leonel Mendoza⁴⁰, Wieland Meyer³³, M Hong Nguyen⁴¹, Yinggai Song⁴², Tania C Sorrell⁴³, J Benjamin Stielow⁴⁴, Rachel Vilela⁴⁰, Roxana G Vitale⁴⁵, Nancy L Wengenack⁴⁶, P Lewis White⁴⁷, Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner⁴⁸, Sean X Zhang⁴⁹; ISHAM/ECMM/FDLC Working Group Nomenclature of Clinical Fungi

Affiliations

¹ Radboudumc-CWZ Centre of Expertise for Mycology, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
² Foundation Atlas of Clinical Fungi, Hilversum, the Netherlands.
³ Center for Innovative Therapeutics and Diagnostics, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
⁴ University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁵ Mycology Reference Laboratory, Spanish National Centre for Microbiology, Madrid, Spain.
⁶ Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
⁷ Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁸ Department of Clinical Microbiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁹ National Mycology Reference Laboratory, Public Health England, Bristol, United Kingdom.
¹⁰ Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, Westmead, Australia.
¹¹ Medical Mycology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
¹² National Reference Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistance in Fungal Pathogens, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
¹³ Division of Infectious Diseases, Mount Auburn Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁴ University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Translational Research, Cologne, Germany.
¹⁵ Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
¹⁶ Manchester Fungal Infection Group, Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
¹⁷ Laboratoire de Santé Publique du Québec, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Canada.
¹⁸ Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Mycology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, Centre National de Référence Aspergilloses chroniques, ECMM Excellence Center in Mycology, Rennes, France.
²⁰ Unitat de Micologia i Microbiologia Ambiental, Facultat de Medicina i Ciènces de la Salut, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.
²¹ Infectious Disease Research Program, Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany.
²² Oniris, VetAgroBio Nantes, IRF, SFR ICAT, Université d'Angers, Angers, France.
²³ Laboratory Diagnostic Center, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.
²⁴ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom.
²⁵ Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom.
²⁶ University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
²⁷ Jilin Agricultural University, Chanchung, China.
²⁸ St. John's Institute of Dermatology, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
²⁹ Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
³⁰ Translational Medical Mycology Research Unit, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
³¹ Department of Botany, Charles University, Prague, Czechia.
³² Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
³³ Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
³⁴ National Mycology Reference Centre, SA Pathology, Adelaide, Australia.
³⁵ School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences Engineering and Technology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
³⁶ Public Health Ontario Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
³⁷ Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
³⁸ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
³⁹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
⁴⁰ Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
⁴¹ University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁴² Department of Dermatology, Peking University First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
⁴³ Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
⁴⁴ Bioinformatics, Helmholtz Institute for One Health, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴⁵ CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas), Hospital JM Ramos Mejía, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁴⁶ Division of Clinical Microbiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
⁴⁷ Public Health Wales Microbiology, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
⁴⁸ McGovern Medical School, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁴⁹ Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

PMID: 39526838
PMCID: PMC11633119
DOI: 10.1128/jcm.00937-24

Review

Nomenclature for human and animal fungal pathogens and diseases: a proposal for standardized terminology

Sybren de Hoog et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2024.

. 2024 Dec 11;62(12):e0093724.

doi: 10.1128/jcm.00937-24. Epub 2024 Nov 11.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Radboudumc-CWZ Centre of Expertise for Mycology, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
² Foundation Atlas of Clinical Fungi, Hilversum, the Netherlands.
³ Center for Innovative Therapeutics and Diagnostics, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
⁴ University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁵ Mycology Reference Laboratory, Spanish National Centre for Microbiology, Madrid, Spain.
⁶ Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
⁷ Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁸ Department of Clinical Microbiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁹ National Mycology Reference Laboratory, Public Health England, Bristol, United Kingdom.
¹⁰ Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, Westmead, Australia.
¹¹ Medical Mycology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
¹² National Reference Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistance in Fungal Pathogens, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
¹³ Division of Infectious Diseases, Mount Auburn Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁴ University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Translational Research, Cologne, Germany.
¹⁵ Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
¹⁶ Manchester Fungal Infection Group, Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
¹⁷ Laboratoire de Santé Publique du Québec, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Canada.
¹⁸ Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Mycology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, Centre National de Référence Aspergilloses chroniques, ECMM Excellence Center in Mycology, Rennes, France.
²⁰ Unitat de Micologia i Microbiologia Ambiental, Facultat de Medicina i Ciènces de la Salut, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.
²¹ Infectious Disease Research Program, Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany.
²² Oniris, VetAgroBio Nantes, IRF, SFR ICAT, Université d'Angers, Angers, France.
²³ Laboratory Diagnostic Center, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.
²⁴ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom.
²⁵ Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom.
²⁶ University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
²⁷ Jilin Agricultural University, Chanchung, China.
²⁸ St. John's Institute of Dermatology, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
²⁹ Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
³⁰ Translational Medical Mycology Research Unit, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
³¹ Department of Botany, Charles University, Prague, Czechia.
³² Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
³³ Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
³⁴ National Mycology Reference Centre, SA Pathology, Adelaide, Australia.
³⁵ School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences Engineering and Technology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
³⁶ Public Health Ontario Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
³⁷ Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
³⁸ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
³⁹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
⁴⁰ Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
⁴¹ University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁴² Department of Dermatology, Peking University First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China.
⁴³ Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
⁴⁴ Bioinformatics, Helmholtz Institute for One Health, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴⁵ CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas), Hospital JM Ramos Mejía, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁴⁶ Division of Clinical Microbiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
⁴⁷ Public Health Wales Microbiology, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
⁴⁸ McGovern Medical School, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁴⁹ Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

PMID: 39526838
PMCID: PMC11633119
DOI: 10.1128/jcm.00937-24

Abstract

Medically important pathogenic fungi invade vertebrate tissue and are considered primary when part of their nature life cycle is associated with an animal host and are usually able to infect immunocompetent hosts. Opportunistic fungal pathogens complete their life cycle in environmental habitats or occur as commensals within or on the vertebrate body, but under certain conditions can thrive upon infecting humans. The extent of host damage in opportunistic infections largely depends on the portal and modality of entry as well as on the host's immune and metabolic status. Diseases caused by primary pathogens and common opportunists, causing the top approximately 80% of fungal diseases [D. W. Denning, Lancet Infect Dis, 24:e428-e438, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00692-8], tend to follow a predictive pattern, while those by occasional opportunists are more variable. For this reason, it is recommended that diseases caused by primary pathogens and the common opportunists are named after the etiologic agent, for example, histoplasmosis and aspergillosis, while this should not be done for occasional opportunists that should be named as [causative fungus] [clinical syndrome], for example, Alternaria alternata cutaneous infection. The addition of a descriptor that identifies the location or clinical type of infection is required, as the general name alone may cover widely different clinical syndromes, for example, "rhinocerebral mucormycosis." A list of major recommended human and animal disease entities (nomenclature) is provided in alignment with their causative agents. Fungal disease names may encompass several genera of etiologic agents, consequently being less susceptible to taxonomic changes of the causative species, for example, mucormycosis covers numerous mucormycetous molds.

Keywords: fungal disease; nomenclature; proposal.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Fig 1**
Types of pathogenicity of fungal pathogens in medical mycology.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Nomenclature for human and animal fungal pathogens and diseases: a proposal for standardized terminology

Affiliations

Nomenclature for human and animal fungal pathogens and diseases: a proposal for standardized terminology

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical