The Monekosso amphitheater at the University of Kinshasa hosted the activities of the first Congolese Mycology Day on Thursday, September 30, 2021. Organized by the Microbiology Department of the University of Kinshasa, this event, which brought together several Congolese and foreign scientists, addressed issues related to the fight against fungal diseases (from diagnosis to treatment) in sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fungal diseases cause the death of more than two million people each year. According to the organizers of the Congolese Mycology Day, fungal diseases, in addition to their negative impact on the health of those who suffer from them, have harmful consequences on their socio-economic situation because they create misery due to their comorbidity, stigmatization, and the resulting inability to work (Kamwiziku et al. 2021). These problems can be solved by establishing a rapid diagnostic method that would call for early and adequate treatment. The Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections (GAFFI) estimates that with widely available treatment, the number of deaths from fungal diseases can drop from two million to less than 750,000 deaths per year (www.gaffi.org).

The objective of this activity was to raise awareness among the scientific community about fungal diseases in order to see to what extent it is possible to ensure the implementation of a technical platform for the diagnosis and management of these diseases.

This Congolese Mycology Day laid the foundations for the long-term creation of a Congolese Mycology Society whose mission will be to advocate with decision-makers and practitioners to eliminate these diseases, which are neglected tropical diseases and cause several deaths each year.

This day also provided an opportunity to popularize the various diagnostic tests available in the field of fungal diseases, as well as to highlight antifungal drugs and good practices relating to their use.

Organized in collaboration with GAFFI, represented by its Africa Director Emma Orefuwa who drew up a map of diagnostic methods for fungal diseases in Africa, this Congolese mycology day saw the participation of several scientists who, in turn, spoke to share their experiences on fungal diseases. Speaking by videoconference or in person, pathologists, microbiologists, dermatologists, radiologists, infectious disease specialists and other public health researchers took part in the various panels organized on the occasion. These scientists addressed themes such as "fungal diseases in the DRC", "histopathological diagnosis of fungal diseases", "Radiological images of fungal diseases: experience of the DRC", "foot fungus, athlete's foot", "creatinine phosphokinase-BB, a marker for monitoring the treatment of neuromeningitis in Cryptococcus neoformans, study carried out at the University Clinics of Lubumbashi ", “antifungal drugs in the DRC” as well as “tools and equipment for biological diagnosis in the DRC”.

On this day, the Department of Medical Biology, through the Microbiology Service, is calling on everyone, decision-makers, medical biologists, hospital practitioners and laboratory technicians, to join hands to make mycological diagnosis a reality in the Democratic Republic of Congo and thus contribute to the rapid management of these pathologies which are silent killers.

For the organizing committee

                                      Dr Kamwiziku Guyguy, Microbiologist

                                      Dr. Jean Claude Makangara, MD