Scientists in Costa Rica tested fungi found on coffee beans to see how they reacted to common antifungal drugs. They analyzed 187 samples of Aspergillus species collected from the Los Santos coffee-growing region. The goal was to check how sensitive these fungi were to medicines like amphotericin B, itraconazole, and voriconazole.
The results showed that some fungi were harder to treat than expected. For example, 75% of the Aspergillus fumigatus samples were classified as non-wild type for amphotericin B, meaning they showed reduced sensitivity. Similarly, 25% of Aspergillus fumigatus samples were non-wild type for voriconazole. The average amounts of drug needed to stop fungal growth varied significantly between the different medicines tested.
This laboratory study did not involve people, so no safety concerns for patients were reported. However, the findings suggest that current drug policies might need updating. These results could help guide how doctors use these drugs in clinical settings and how farmers manage fungi in agriculture. Because this was a lab study with a limited number of samples, the results apply only to the specific fungi tested in that region.