Recognizing the growing global burden of fungal infections, the World Health Organization established a process to develop a priority list of fungal pathogens (FPPL). In this systematic review, we aimed to evaluate the epidemiology and impact of infections caused by Fusarium spp., Scedosporium spp., and Lomentospora prolificans to inform the first FPPL. PubMed and Web of Sciences databases were searched to identify studies published between January 1, 2011 and February 23, 2021, reporting on mortality, complications and sequelae, antifungal susceptibility, preventability, annual incidence, and trends. Overall, 20, 11, and 9 articles were included for Fusarium spp., Scedosporium spp., and L. prolificans, respectively. Mortality rates were high in those with invasive fusariosis, scedosporiosis, and lomentosporiosis (42.9%–66.7%, 42.4%–46.9%, and 50.0%–71.4%, respectively). Antifungal susceptibility data, based on small isolate numbers, showed high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC)/minimum effective concentrations for most currently available antifungal agents. The median/mode MIC for itraconazole and isavuconazole were ≥16 mg/l for all three pathogens. Based on limited data, these fungi are emerging. Invasive fusariosis increased from 0.08 cases/100 000 admissions to 0.22 cases/100 000 admissions over the time periods of 2000–2009 and 2010–2015, respectively, and in lung transplant recipients, Scedosporium spp. and L. prolificans were only detected from 2014 onwards. Global surveillance to better delineate antifungal susceptibility, risk factors, sequelae, and outcomes is required.

Background: This paper provides the first national analysis of antimicrobial use (AMU) of oral and parenteral dosages in Bangladesh, as well as biannual trends for the years from 2019 to 2023. It also analyzes the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on AMU. Methods: AMU was analyzed in accordance with the WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification and defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day methodology. Data on antimicrobial medicine dispatched from manufacturers’ central warehouse was collected and categorized based on the WHO’s Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe) classification. Findings: This AMU surveillance demonstrates an increase in the use of antimicrobial medicines from 2021 to 2022, and in 2023, it decreased, with our national AMU surveillance data indicating that cefixime and azithromycin were the most consumed antibiotics during this period. Most antibiotics used in Bangladesh are broad-spectrum ‘Watch’-category antibiotics. Among oral antibiotics, 50 to 67% are from the ‘Watch’-category. When considering only parenteral antibiotics, 70 to 91 % fall under the ‘Watch’-category. Third-generation cephalosporin consumption has been found to be higher than second- and first-generation cephalosporins. The oral antimicrobials are more commonly used than parenteral ones. AMU notably increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the case of systemic antibacterial use. Conclusions: To achieve the global target of 70% use of Access category antibiotics by 2030, the use of Watch-group antibiotics, like cefixime, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and ceftibuten, needs to be reduced through investing in and strengthening stewardship programs and eliminating self-medication in Bangladesh. The findings of this study provide useful information to policymakers to tackle AMR in Bangladesh.