The AFWG is an organization of professionals dedicated to advancing the understanding, diagnostics and management of invasive fungal infections and augmenting fungal surveillance data to support best practices across continental Asia and the Asia-Pacific.
The AFWG has welcomed two new members from Vietnam and Pakistan, expanding its reach into regions where awareness and experience with invasive fungal diseases are relatively low and where greater educational efforts are needed for front-line clinical and laboratory professionals.
Medical Mycology Training Network (MMTN) 2023: MMTN is a series of educational workshops aim to provide microbiologists and clinicians with essential knowledge and skills for laboratory diagnosis and clinical management of medical mycoses, ultimately improving patient outcomes across the Asia-Pacific region. The AFWG hosted its first in-person regional MMTN since the pandemic in Bangkok from August 4-6, 2023. In addition to our AFWG members, 12 local and international faculty presented a comprehensive agenda focused on practical experience in medical mycoses. Over 250 delegates from 12 countries/regions attended, with 195 healthcare professionals participating in the pre-conference web lab sessions at Chulalongkorn University.
Alliance with Antimicrobial Stewardship Working Group: The AFWG has joined hands with the Antimicrobial Stewardship Working Group (AMSWG)—a coalition of 9 infectious disease physicians, pharmacists, and microbiologists across 8 territories in Asia—to address the global challenge of rising #antimicrobial resistance (#AMR).
Online education: Seven online Masterclasses were given:
• Everything you wanted to know about IMIs for Internists and Endocrinologists
• Everything you wanted to know about IMIs for Otorhinolaryngologists
• Diagnosis and management of invasive fungal diseases
• Diagnosis and management of superficial fungal infections
• The best of ISHAM Asia 2021
• Interventions in preventing, diagnosing and treating fungal infections
• Management of fungal infections in immunocompromised hosts
Two Fungal Frontiers webinars, in collaboration with ANZMIG, were conducted:
• Cryptococcosis: Focus with persons without HIV
• The fever that wouldn’t go away
Our sponsored education platform for industry-sponsored educational initiatives was launched in 2022. In 2023, we ran an online case-based educational series on CaseClinic: Tailoring antifungal treatment for difficult fungal infections.
AFWG Online Environment: The AFWG continues to focus on building its online audience of professionals to reach out and promote our educational activities and events.
The official AFWG website (www.afwgonline.com) continues to serve as an easily accessible, comprehensive portal for networking and delivery of updated mycology information tailored to researchers and healthcare professionals in Asia.
The website hosts an extensive range of mycology information from renowned experts, including video presentations, case studies, CME training modules, clinical guides, the latest publications and research, and a calendar of important mycology events.
The website has been further updated with electronic registration form for training events and more educational slides and videos on diagnosis and management topics.
The website has more than 162,000 visits to date, with a e-newsletter subscription database of more than 4,00 individuals.
AFWG on social media
The AFWG is also actively involved in building and managing a dynamic and interactive medical mycology community via its official social media channels, you can find us on:
• Facebook (>30,000 followers, >190 posts published)
• Instagram (>970 followers, >200 posts published)
• LinkedIn (>850 followers, >150 posts published)
• YouTube (>1,090 subscribers, 109 video presentations archived; >70,000 views)
• X (>380 followers)
• WeChat (<170 followers)
In 2024, the AFWG will host its first face-to-face ISHAM Asia Congress since the pandemic (Bangkok, 1-3 August 2024). We will continue to partner with the Australian Society of Infectious Diseases, and its ANZ mycology interest group (ANZMIG) to run the Fungal Frontiers in the Asia Pacific webinar series.
In 2024, we also plan to develop a consensus statement on the management of invasive mold pneumonia, specifically aspergillosis and mucormycosis—two of the most clinically significant IMIs in the Asia Pacific region.
None.
2023: 5.000 CHF – WG Meeting support: Medical Mycology Training Network (MMTN) 2023.