Early Career Fellow Highlights OWSD-Funded Research on Emerging Fungal Diseases

Early Career Fellow Dr. Juliana Moura has presented new OWSD-funded research findings at a major scientific gathering in Paraguay.

On 30 September 2025, CEMIT-UNA hosted a theoretical–practical workshop on Laboratory Diagnosis of Sporotrichosis, bringing together clinicians and laboratory professionals for hands-on training in the detection of a disease that is gaining ground in South America. The workshop was supported by OWSD-UNESCO, the Centro de Especialidades Dermatológicas of Paraguay’s Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare, as well as Brunelli Laboratory and RIIMICO.

The free course, limited to 30 health professionals, formed part of Dr. Moura’s Early Career Fellowship (2023) and focused on improving awareness and diagnostic capacity for sporotrichosis, a zoonotic fungal disease most commonly transmitted by cats. Long considered endemic to Brazil, sporotrichosis is now being reported with increasing frequency in neighbouring countries, including Paraguay - a trend that underscores the need for regional surveillance and coordinated control strategies.

During the workshop, Dr. Moura presented updates from her OWSD-UNESCO–supported project, “Investigation of New Antifungals and Combinations Against Emerging Pathogenic Fungi: A One-Health Approach.” Her work explores new treatment options for difficult-to-manage fungal infections, integrating human, animal and environmental health perspectives.

Participants in the workshop also received scholarships to attend the VIII Clinical Mycology Meeting (1–3 October), an international forum convening experts from across Latin America and Europe. Both events aimed to strengthen regional expertise in clinical mycology while showcasing how targeted research funding can translate into practical public-health impact.