Global Audience

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Increasing awareness, diagnosis and treatment of aspergillosis

Plan:

  1. Summary
  2. UK-specific
  3. Global
  4. Useful examples to follow

 

Here’s how to build a global-ready, multi-audience awareness strategy that reflects:

  • 🌍 Patients from many countries

  • 🇬🇧 UK’s relatively stronger but still inequitable provision

  • 🤝 Partnerships with European Lung Foundation (ELF)

  • 🫁 Linkages with European Respiratory Society (ERS)

  • 🧫 Inclusion of Infectious Diseases (ID) specialists (often key for CPA, ABPA, bronchiectasis).

Below is how to integrate these pieces into a coherent system that works for UK, Europe and global contexts.

⭐ Revised Strategy: 3-Level Campaign Structure

Level 1 — Global “Think Aspergillus” Awareness (ALL forms)

A high-level global campaign.

Purpose

  • Set the basic expectation for clinicians worldwide:
    Chronic aspergillosis exists. It is under-recognised. It is treatable. Patients must not be left undiagnosed for years.

  • Establish NAC/Manchester as a centre of excellence and global knowledge generator.

Audience includes

  • Respiratory specialists (global)

  • Infectious Diseases physicians

  • TB clinicians

  • Radiologists

  • GPs/primary care

  • Severe asthma HCPs

  • International NGOs, TB networks, antifungal stewardship groups

  • Patient associations (global)

Messaging needs to be platform-agnostic

  • No assumption of UK NHS pathways.

  • Focus on how to recognise and what to look for, not the specifics of UK referral systems.

This also helps clinicians in resource-limited settings.

Level 2 — Europe-Focused Campaigns (via ELF & ERS)

Use ELF → ERS pathway to drive continent-wide consistency.

Purpose

  • Embed CPA/ABPA/bronchitis/SAFS into European respiratory education.

  • Raise awareness among ID specialists (ERS includes TBNET, ID, critical care, etc.)

What this makes possible

  • Webinar series co-branded (ELF + NAC).

  • ERS Congress abstracts, posters, training modules.

  • European guidelines visibility (CPA is in ERS guidelines; ABPA in 2024 ISHAM criteria).

  • European centre-to-centre collaboration.

  • Better quality translation: patient materials in 8–10 languages.

Key clinical groups to reach

  • ERS Assembly 3 (Airway Diseases),

  • Assembly 7 (Infectious Diseases),

  • Assembly 10 (Respiratory Infections incl. fungal),

  • TBNET,

  • ERS long COVID networks (symptom overlap),

  • Severe asthma and difficult-to-diagnose asthma groups.

Outputs here

  • Europe-wide “CPA symptom flags”

  • Radiology recognition guides

  • TB → CPA transition risk tools

  • Country-by-country resource lists

  • Adaptable patient stories

  • Simple diagnostic algorithm posters

Level 3 — UK-Specific Pathways (NAC’s commissioned role)

Once a clinician audience is warmed up, UK messaging becomes more specific:

Purpose

  • Reduce variation across England

  • Educate GPs, respiratory teams and ID physicians on referral triggers

  • Improve access to nationally commissioned services

  • Reach ICS/ICBs

  • Create local champions

Key audiences

  • Respiratory teams in regions with low detection

  • ID teams (especially tertiary hospitals needing CPA input)

  • Severe asthma networks

  • Radiology

  • Primary care (via RCGP/GP federations)

  • NHS antimicrobial stewardship teams

Outputs

  • ICS-specific referral sheet

  • UK diagnostic algorithm

  • One-page “When to refer to NAC” tools

  • GP-friendly versions

  • LinkedIn posts tailored to specific ICBs

  • UK-specific webinars targeted at low-detection areas

🧫 Where Infectious Diseases fits in your strategy

ID must be integrated throughout, because:

  • Many countries don’t have strong respiratory care, so ID doctors manage CPA/IPA.

  • ID teams already handle TB, HIV, NTM, post-COVID complications.

  • They understand antifungals, drug interactions, toxicity.

  • CPA is an infection interface disease: ID + respiratory + radiology.

  • Hospital-based ID teams see recurrent admissions → they are a high-yield detection group.

ID-specific messaging

  • CPA is not an opportunistic infection but often occurs post-infection (TB, COVID, flu).

  • High mortality untreated.

  • Long-term monitoring needed.

  • Antifungal stewardship: interactions with rifampicin, statins, DOACs, macrolides.

  • Beta-D-glucan is not reliable for CPA.

  • IgG + HRCT = most important.

ID-specific outputs

  • One-page antifungal interaction guide

  • “When NOT to rely on galactomannan/BDG”

  • Recognising cavitary disease

  • Guidance for managing CPA flares vs bacterial exacerbations

  • Case-based ID rounds (very effective)

ID specialists also work closely with radiology → essential for CPA detection.

🌍 Global Patient Group Integration

Your international patient base is a major asset.

Patients can help with:

  • Lived experience stories from multiple countries

  • Illustrating impact of misdiagnosis

  • Contrasting UK provision with other systems

  • Helping shape multilingual materials

  • Participating in ELF advisory panels

  • Speaking at ERS/ELF sessions

  • Driving awareness via social media: “Patients teaching clinicians”

Why this matters

  • Stories from India, Africa, Europe, Middle East, USA highlight global underdiagnosis.

  • Shows clinicians this is not a rare UK niche condition — it’s global, serious, and widespread.

  • Helps pressure national societies and ministries of health.

🎯 Recommended Overall Workflow (Simple)

1. Global message

“Chronic aspergillosis is under-recognised everywhere. It causes avoidable suffering. Better diagnosis saves lives.”

2. Europe-level message

“Across Europe, misdiagnosed chronic respiratory symptoms require fungal thinking.”

3. UK-level message

“We have a nationally commissioned centre — refer early, don’t wait.”

4. Condition campaigns

  • CPA

  • ABPA

  • Aspergillus bronchitis

  • SAFS

5. Targeted versions for

  • Respiratory

  • ID

  • Radiology

  • Primary care

  • TB clinics

  • Severe asthma hubs

  • Bronchiectasis services

  • LMIC clinicians

✔️ Short answer

You need both global + European + UK layers, AND separate campaigns for CPA, ABPA, bronchitis, SAFS — all under one unified umbrella.
And Infectious Diseases should be treated as a core audience equally important as respiratory.