Supplement to Mycologia Vol. 54(3) June 2003 Newsletter of the Mycological Society of America -- In This Issue -- Fungal Bioterrorism Threat Gaining Public Interest, Yet Not Biggest Concern of Fungal Fungal Bioterrorism ................................ 1-2 Specialists, Survey Finds Find of Century: Additional Comments ...... 2 MSA Official Business by Meredith Stone and John Scally From the President .................................. 3 Questions or comments should be sent to John Scally, Senior Account Executive, From the Editor ....................................... 3 G.S. Schwartz & Co. Inc., 470 Park Ave South, 10th Fl. S., New York, NY Mid-Year Executive Council Minutes .. 4-7 10016, 212.725.4500 x 338 or < [email protected] >. Managing Editor’s Mid-Year Report ....... 8 EADING FUNGAL INFECTION EXPERTS to discuss disease challenges Council Email Express ............................. 9 at upcoming mycology medical conference. The threat of fungal Important Announcement .................... 9 Lagents being misused for bioterrorism will gain the most public MSA ABSTRACTS.................. 10-52, 63 attention over the next year, compared with other fungal disease issues, Forms according to one-quarter of fungal (medical mycology) specialists Change of Address ............................... 7 surveyed in an exclusive report. Surprisingly, however, none of those surveyed consider such a bioterrorist threat to be the most significant Endowment & Contributions ............. 64 challenge facing the area of fungal disease. Gift Membership ............................... 66 Society Membership .......................... 68 The survey, conducted by leading medical conference organizer ® Mycological News ............................... 52-54 Imedex , Inc., surveyed 55 clinicians, biochemists, immunologists and other leading professionals in medical mycology — the study of fungi Mycological Classifieds ....................... 55-58 Positions, Goods & Services, Fungi, and fungal diseases in humans and animals. Medical mycology Publications, Workshops experts said the most significant challenge is the continuing increase Mycologist’s Bookshelf ...................... 58-60 in morbidity and mortality from fungal infections (43%). Calendar of Events .................................... 61 “These survey results tell us that while the public may have fears about Mycology On-Line .............................. 61-63 biological warfare via fungal pathogens, leading experts believe the greater Sustaining Members ............................ 65-66 and more realistic threat comes from a natural progression of fungal disease transmission,” said Michael G. Rinaldi, Ph.D. (Dr. Rinaldi is Co-Chairman of ~ Important Dates ~ the Focus on Fungal Infection Meeting Series at which this survey was June 15: Deadline: Inoculum 55(4) conducted, as well as the President of the impending Congress of the May 25-29, 2003: International Society for International Society for Human and Animal Mycology [ISHAM]). Human and Animal Mycology, San Imedex, which for 20 years has provided accredited medical education Antonio, TX services globally, will release the full study results at the upcoming July 27-31, 2003: MSA-BMS, Alilomar, CA conference of ISHAM – the leading medical mycology forum which th August 10-15, 2003: 4 International Conf. attracts an estimated 1,000 international leaders in the study of fungi on Mycorrhizae, Montreal, Quebec and their role in infectious diseases. As noted, the Imedex survey of August 17-23, 2003: 4th International medical mycology experts was conducted during Imedex’s recent Symbiosis Conf., Halifax, Nova Scotia conference, Focus on Fungal Infections - 13, in Maui, Hawaii in March. Editor — The potential use of fungal agents in biological warfare and the Donald G. Ruch presence of mycotoxin-producing fungi in foods, plants, crops and animal feed is an intensifying issue of international debate and Department of Biology research. In addition to health concerns, it is estimated that the Ball State University economic costs resulting from mycotoxins exceed 1.4 billion dollars in Muncie, IN 47306-0440 USA the United States alone. 765.285.8829 FAX 765.285.8804 Recent types of fungal disease that generated national awareness [email protected] include “toxic mold” and “sick buildings,” in which certain growth and environmental conditions produce various mycotoxins that are MSA Homepage: hazardous to human health. http://msafungi.org “Fungal disease has recently taken on • The development expected to have the The scientific program will include increasing significance in global health most promise over the next few years: detailed discussions on the continued circles and the upcoming ISHAM New diagnostic tools for early increase in morbidity and mortality from Congress will serve as a unique forum detection and therapeutic monitor- fungal infections, newly emerging for leading experts to discuss the latest ing (58%) pathogens, increasing antifungal drug research and developments,” said Dr. resistance, new drugs and treatment Rinaldi. “People generally do not realize About ISHAM Conference paradigms, and early detection and the pervasiveness of different forms of (The International Society for Human monitoring. Additional Congress fungal infections and this gathering of and Animal Mycology) information is available online at the foremost researchers will cover ISHAM is a worldwide organization <www.isham.org> or by contacting medical topics that impact millions of that facilitates the study and practice of Imedex, the conference secretariat. people’s lives.” all aspects of medical and veterinary About Imedex®, Inc. Common forms of fungal disease mycology. Twenty-three national include ringworm of the scalp or skin, medical mycology associations are Based in Alpharetta, Georgia, USA, ® athlete’s foot, and fungal infection of the affiliated with ISHAM. The society is a Imedex , Inc. (www.imedex.com) is an nails. More serious or invasive forms of properly recognized non-governmental industry leader in providing accredited fungal disease can affect virtually any affiliate of the World Health Organization. medical education services. With 20 years experience in medical education, Imedex organ in the body, including the heart, This year’s 15th Congress, in San lungs, liver, spleen, eyes and can cause concentrates on medical meeting and Antonio, Texas May 25 – 29, 2003, will symposia development worldwide, neurological damage. th celebrate the 50 anniversary of the association management and sponsor Additional Survey Highlights foundation of the Society. Over 450 acquisition/exhibit management. abstracts of new research have been • The method of transmission that submitted for presentation. The Imedex has extensive relationships currently poses the single greatest Congress program will follow four with leading healthcare professionals public heath threat: separate tracks – Basic Mycology, and opinion leaders in many fields of Air borne (84%) Applied Mycology, Immunology and medicine. Imedex provides a fully Human-to-human transmission (8%) Clinical Mycology. Concurrent staffed medical resource department as Animal-to-human (1%) sessions will allow participants to well as in-house business development, Foodborne (0%) focus on the area(s) most applicable to project management, marketing and their interests. graphic and web-design services. • The area of mycology that has seen the Founded in 1985 in The Netherlands, greatest improvement in recent years: Imedex established its US-based Improved efficacy of antifungal operations in 1987. drugs (45%) Additional Comments on the REAL Find of the Century by Peter Austwick Questions or comments should be sent to Peter K. C. Austwick, 40, Montgomery Ave., Rothesay Bay, Auckland, New Zealand 1310; phone: 64 9 478-7972; [email protected] Brent Heath’s contribution to Inoculum (53[2]:16, April way to me at the Nuffield Institute for Comparative Medicine 2002) quite justly suggests that Colin Orpin’s discovery of at the London Zoo for refereeing, as I was one of the few the presence and role of ruminal chytrids deserves an even mycologists involved in animal diseases. Almost incredu- greater accolade than that accorded the finding of lously I strongly recommended it for publication but in the Pseudotulostoma - magnificent though this was itself. event this did not take place until the issue of the Journal My reason for extolling this claim is that the long delay in the Vol.91 pp.249-262 in December 1975. publication of the original paper was seemingly because of the When going against the grain of contemporary belief the disdain of its reviewers for such an outlandish suggestion that way of a transgressor is hard - after all, having found fungal fungi could be involved in such a high temperature anaerobic hyphae in the cotyledon tissue of toxic groundnut (peanut) process as important as rumination ! After all protozoologists knew meal and none whatsoever in the non-toxic, I was told by my that THEIR motile specialities were THE organisms responsible superior officer (a protozoologist) that “Turkey - X disease” along with some bacteria, and no one likes to be told that one’’s pet (i.e. later aflatoxicosis) “ was far too important a disease to be organisms actually belong to another (then) kingdom. caused by a fungus “ ! (see Wiley & Morehouse 1978 The manuscript was received by the Journal of General Mycotoxic Fungi and Mycotoxicoses Vol.2 p 280) !! Microbiology on 28th October 1974 and eventually found