Medical Mycology dissertation topics require prioritisation among Postgraduate Microbiology trainees of Makerere University, Uganda

BACKGROUND: As elsewhere worldwide, there is an increasing burden of fungal diseases in Uganda. However, expertise in medical mycology (the study of fungal diseases of medical importance) among clinicians and laboratory personnel remains low. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to determine the proportion of dissertations on medical mycology among postgraduate medical microbiology trainees at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the topics of dissertations submitted to the Departments of Medical Microbiology and Immunology & Molecular Biology from 2011 through 2018. The proportion of dissertation topics on medical mycology was analysed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 152 dissertations were retrieved. Of these, only 5 (3.3%) were on medical mycology compared to bacteriology (50.7%, n = 77), virology (27.6%, n = 42), parasitology (14.5%, n = 22) and immunology (4.0%, n = 6). Of the 5 dissertations on fungal diseases, the distribution was as follows: cryptococcal meningitis (40%, n = 2), Candidiasis (20%, n = 1), superficial mycoses (20%, n = 1) and other invasive fungal diseases (20%, n = 1). The most common method that was used for studying the fungal diseases was culture 60%, n = 3. CONCLUSION: There is limited research on medical mycology among the postgraduate medical microbiology trainees of Makerere University, Uganda.