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Evolution of Cryptococcal Antigen Testing: What Is New?

  • Clinical Mycology Lab Issues (K Lagrou, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Over the last decade, an upsurge in both the frequency and severity of fungal infections due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the use of immunosuppressive therapy has occurred. Even diagnostic methods like culture and microscopy, which have low sensitivity and longer turnaround times, are not widely available, leading to delays in timely antifungal therapy and detrimental patient outcomes. The evolution of cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) testing to develop inexpensive and more sensitive methods to detect cryptococcal antigen is significant. These newer tests employ immunoassays as part of point-of-care platforms, which do not require complex laboratory infrastructure, and they have the potential to detect early disease and reduce time to diagnosis of cryptococcal infection. Advocacy for widely available and efficacious life-saving antifungal treatment should be the only remaining challenge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Infectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Mulago Hill Road, # 22418, Kampala, Uganda

    Elizabeth Nalintya, Reuben Kiggundu & David Meya

  2. Department of Medicine, Center for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Translational Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    David Meya

  3. School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    David Meya

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Nalintya
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  2. Reuben Kiggundu
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  3. David Meya
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Correspondence to David Meya.

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Elizabeth Nalintya, Reuben Kiggundu, and David Meya declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Clinical Mycology Lab Issues

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Nalintya, E., Kiggundu, R. & Meya, D. Evolution of Cryptococcal Antigen Testing: What Is New?. Curr Fungal Infect Rep 10, 62–67 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12281-016-0256-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12281-016-0256-3

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