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New Diagnostic Approaches in the Management of Fungal Infections in AIDS and Other Immunocompromised Patients

Infectious Diseases Control

Federative Republic of Brazil

Terminated

New Diagnostic Approaches in the Management of Fungal Infections in AIDS and Other Immunocompromised Patients

Researching New Diagnostic Techniques for Protecting Immunocompromised Patients from Fungal Infections

Principal Investigator

- Prof.
  KAMEI Katsuhiko
  Medical Mycology Research Center (MMRC), Chiba University

ODA Recipient Country

Federative Republic of Brazil

Research Institutions in Japan

Chiba University

Research Institutions in Counterpart Country

Sao Paulo State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

Adoption fiscal year

FY 2009

Research Period

3 Years

Overview of the Research Project

Enabling accurate, speedy, and sensitive identification of causative fungi for early diagnosis and treatment
Fungal infections caused by yeasts and molds not only adversely affect quality of life, but can also often be fatal. HIV infection depresses immune functions, thus increasing susceptibility to fungal infections, and in Brazil where over 730,000 people are HIV-positive, addressing such infections is an important issue. Under this project, fungal infection data are being collected from people living with HIV and other immunosuppressive diseases and researched to develop simplified diagnostic and identification techniques based on gene sequencing data and DNA chips for strain identification developed by Chiba University's Medical Mycology Research Center (MMRC).

Application of development outcomes to other regions and diseases
Diagnostic and identification techniques and technologies are being transferred steadily to Brazil. After analysis, we will also share epidemiological and diagnostic technique outcomes obtained in Brazil with the world through the Internet and academic journals. Since these outcomes can be applied to the diagnosis and treatment of other infectious diseases in South America, they should help advance treatment of infectious diseases.