This resolution supports naming the third week of September "Fungal Disease Awareness Week." It notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already observes a fungal awareness week each September and that the CDC message to "think fungus" can help save lives. The text says fungal infections are a growing public health concern, can resist antifungal drugs, and are often mistaken for bacterial or viral pneumonia. The resolution lists specific fungal illnesses (including Valley Fever, histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, aspergillosis, mucormycosis, fungal meningitis, severe ringworm, candidiasis, and Candida auris) and cites examples and counts from recent years: about 20,000 Valley Fever cases reported annually with 21,037 in 2023; a 2023 blastomycosis outbreak with 162 cases at a paper mill in Michigan; a 2025–2026 histoplasmosis outbreak in Tennessee; and 6,304 new clinical cases of Candida auris reported in 2024. The resolution urges better awareness, diagnosis, treatment, surveillance, outbreak response, laboratory capacity, infection control, occupational and environmental risk communication, research on diagnostics and treatments, and patient-centered care. It also honors patients, caregivers, clinicians, laboratorians, public health workers, researchers, and advocates.
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Supporters say raising awareness, improving testing and identification, expanding surveillance, and strengthening outbreak response will lead to earlier recognition, timelier and more appropriate treatment, better infection control, and ultimately save lives. They also emphasize honoring patients and health professionals and the need for research on diagnostics, antifungal drugs, and prevention.
No publicly available information.