Fungi on the Fly: Travel-Associated Fungal Infections

Fungi on the Fly: Travel-Associated Fungal Infections

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Title: Fungi on the Fly: Travel-Associated Fungal Infections

Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2026

Time: 9:00 AM ET (The webinar is approximately 60 minutes)

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Fungal infections are among the most easily missed diagnoses in returning travelers. They mimic tuberculosis, malignancy and bacterial pneumonia; they surface weeks or months after exposure, long after the itinerary has faded from the chart; and the exposures that cause them — a cave tour, a surgical suite abroad, a thorn scratch on a trek — rarely make it into the travel history unless you ask for them. Fungal diseases are increasing worldwide, treatment options remain narrow, and there are no vaccines. CDC's message for the week is a clinical one: think fungus to save lives.

During this webinar Tom Chiller examines medical tourism as a route of fungal exposure, drawing on the recent fungal meningitis outbreaks among patients who traveled abroad for surgical procedures — a devastating, hard-to-diagnose complication that put clinicians on alert across two countries and reframed how we counsel patients considering care overseas. Ellie Macbain turns to adventure travel and the histoplasmosis outbreaks that follow cave exploration, ecotourism and other high-exposure itineraries, where a single group excursion can generate a cluster of cases presenting to a dozen unconnected clinics weeks later. Eva Parker covers what shows up on the skin: travel-associated dermatophytosis, including the antifungal-resistant strains now spreading internationally, and the implantation mycoses acquired through traumatic inoculation in tropical and subtropical settings.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe fungal infection risk associated with medical tourism, including the epidemiology and clinical course of recent fungal meningitis outbreaks linked to procedures performed abroad, and counsel patients considering care overseas.
2. Identify the travel activities and destinations that carry histoplasmosis risk, and recognize the outbreak patterns that follow adventure and group travel.
3. Recognize travel-associated dermatophyte infections, including antifungal-resistant strains, and outline current approaches to diagnosis and management.
4. Distinguish the implantation mycoses acquired through traumatic inoculation abroad and describe an appropriate diagnostic approach.
5. Apply a targeted exposure history to raise or lower suspicion for fungal infection in the ill returning traveler.


Speakers:

Dr. Tom Chiller
Dr. Ellie Macbain
Dr. Eva Parker

Moderator:
Dr. Lin Chen

Lin Chen, MD FACP, FASTMH, FISTM

Lin Chen, MD FACP, FASTMH, FISTM (Moderator)

Associate Professor of Medicine

Harvard Medical School

Lin H. Chen MD, FACP, FASTMH, FISTM, is Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Travel Medicine Consultant in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  She directed the Travel Medicine Center at Mount Auburn Hospital, for over 2 decades. She is a Past President of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM), a former member of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and co-chair the Beth Israel Lahey Health Vaccine P&T.  She is a section editor of the CDC Health Information for International Travel, Up-To-Date, DynaMed, and co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Infectious Diseases: A Geographical Guide.

 She has been actively engaged in several professional societies, including the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) and Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), along with ISTM.  At ASTMH, she served on the Education Task Force and on the CTropMed Examination Committee, and also was a Councilor in the American Committee on Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers’ Health (Clinical Group).  She has been an invited speaker to several IDWeeks and has participated in advocacy for the organization.  At ISTM, she has served on the Executive Board and committees on education/courses, research, and scientific programs. Prior to her 2024 ACIP appointment, she chaired the ISTM Development and Planning Committee. 

 Dr. Chen served as a site director for the GeoSentinel Surveillance and Research Network as well as the Global Travel Epidemiology Network.  Her clinical research has focused on vector-borne diseases, vaccines, and emerging infections.

Tom Chiller, MD

Tom Chiller, MD

Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Strategic Innovation

Immuno-Mycologics, Inc. (IMMY)

Dr. Tom Chiller is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Vice President of Strategic Innovation at IMMY (Immuno-Mycologics, Inc.), a US-based IVD manufacturer dedicated to saving lives through the development and distribution of innovative diagnostic solutions for fungal diseases.

Dr Chiller is a board member with the Global Action For Fungal Infections (GAFFI) NGO, the only global non-profit organization dedicated to the eradication of death and suffering from fungal disease.

Until recently Dr. Chiller served as Chief of the Mycotic Diseases Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for over 25 years, where he led national and international efforts to detect, prevent, and respond to fungal infections. His work at CDC included spearheading the development of surveillance systems, laboratory capacity, and policy frameworks that have shaped fungal disease response worldwide, including identifying important One Health fungal diseases and opportunities to engage the broader community. He also played a pivotal role in identifying and responding to emerging AR threats like Candida auris, azole resistant Aspergillus, and the emerging highly resistant dermatophytes (ring worm) and advancing global strategies to reduce deaths from fungal infections like cryptococcal meningitis in HIV. Dr. Chiller’s leadership helped secure increased funding dedicated to fungal diseases in the CDC budget and facilitate more investment from NIH into fungal diseases clinical research.  He lead efforts resulting in the inclusion of fungal pathogens in major global health platforms, including the WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System and the first-ever WHO fungal priority pathogens list.

Ellie MacBain, MD

Ellie MacBain, MD

Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician

BC Children’s Hospital and BC Centre for Disease Control TB Clinic

Dr. Elspeth MacBain is a pediatric infectious diseases physician based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She splits clinical time between treating complex infections at BC Children’s Hospital and managing cases at the BC Centre for Disease Control TB Clinic. She completed her fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at University of British Columbia, and completed a Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the Gorgas Memorial Institute. Dr. MacBain’s clinical and research interests include mycobacterial infections, emerging global pathogens, and health equity in pediatric populations.

Eva Rawlings Parker, MD, DTMH

Eva Rawlings Parker, MD, DTMH

Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Core Faculty

Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Eva Rawlings Parker, MD, DTMH is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Core Faculty in the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Parker practices general and complex medical dermatology as well as inpatient dermatology at Vanderbilt. She is passionate about ensuring access to quality medical care for vulnerable and marginalized populations, providing dermatologic care to people living with HIV in Vanderbilt’s Comprehensive Care Clinic and staffing the dermatology clinic at Nashville General Hospital, the city’s safety net hospital. Dr. Parker also provides volunteer dermatologic care to immigrant, refugee, and underserved populations in Nashville, TN, is a member of the volunteer medical corps of the Addis Clinic providing telehealth consultation services in Africa and has taught internationally in resource-limited settings. In addition to her medical degree, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Denver and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her academic expertise includes the health effects of climate change, HIV dermatoses, tropical skin disease, and infectious disease dermatology. Dr. Parker actively publishes and speaks at national and international meetings on the intersection of climate change, infectious diseases, and global health. Additionally, she is Co-Chair of the American Academy of Dermatology’s Expert Resource Group on Climate Change and Environmental Affairs, Associate Editor of the Journal of Climate Change and Health, an advisor to the International League of Dermatological Societies’ World Health Organization Official Relations Committee, and a member of the Global Chromoblastomycosis Working Group.

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Fungi on the Fly: Travel-Associated Fungal Infections
09/16/2026 at 9:00 AM (EDT)  |  60 minutes
09/16/2026 at 9:00 AM (EDT)  |  60 minutes
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