Editorial: mNGS for Fungal Pulmonary Infection Diagnostics
Henan Li
Abstract
In recent years, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) has been increasingly used in clinical diagnosis and has compelling application value in the diagnosis of fungal infections. Due to the widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, hormones, antitumor drugs, immunosuppressants and the extensive development of various invasive procedures, the incidence of fungal infections has increased, and fungal outbreaks have occurred in different regions. Of note, critically ill patients and patients with hematological tumors are high-risk groups for fungal infections. Fungal infections, such as pulmonary aspergillosis, invasive candidiasis, cryptococcosis, or histoplasmosis, are associated with high mortality. Most human fungal pulmonary infections are caused by opportunistic fungi, but a small number of pathogenic fungi are capable of causing infections in healthy hosts. Most opportunistic fungi are harmless, and their virulence strongly depends on the health status of the host. These opportunistic fungi are capable of causing invasive infections in immunocompromised hosts, and more interestingly, clinical cases without clear host susceptibility factors have been observed.