The INFOCUS LATAM ISHAM associated Working Group was created in 2019 taking advantage of the extensive network of players in the field of Medical Mycology that have been working under the umbrella of the INFOCUS meeting since 2002.
The main proposals of the INFOCU-LATAM are: (i) to connect graduate students and health care workers interested in contributing to the development of local educational programs and guidelines for improving the early diagnosis and best clinical management of patients with fungal infections in our region; (ii) to promote and facilitate the conduction of collaborative multicenter studies delineated to understand the epidemiology of fungal infections in LATAM, (iii) to encourage advocacy initiatives necessary to convince health policy makers and hospital managers to provide better support to medical assistance to patients suffering from opportunistic and endemic fungal infections in our region.
Key goals for the next 3 years are:
- To organize the next INFOCUS editions in different LATAM countries in collaboration with ISHAM, encouraging initiatives of our members to consolidate the INFOCUS LATAM working group
- To organize short-duration regional preceptorships (3-5 days) for training clinicians and laboratory workers in the best management of opportunistic and endemic mycoses with relevance for our region
- To facilitate networking and provide conditions for collaborations and partnerships among key leaders in Latin America interested in conducting multicenter studies in the epidemiology of fungal infections
- To develop local and regional guidelines for the clinical management of highly prevalent fungal infections
- To advocate the recognition of neglected fungal diseases by the police makers of different LATAM countries
- To encourage LATAM mycologists to become affiliated to ISHAM, with emphasis in YOUNG ISHAAM