Deadly fungus: a growing global health threat – is climate change to blame?
Candida auris, also known as C. Auris, is a new kind of drug-resistant fungus that was first discovered in a human ear in 2009. According to the CDC, it is currently regarded as an emerging pathogen that poses a significant risk to global health. The fungus is alarming for three key reasons, according to the CDC:
It is frequently multidrug-resistant, which means it is resistant to a variety of antifungal drugs commonly used to treat Candida infections. Some strains are resistant to all three antifungal classes; It is difficult to identify using standard laboratory methods and can be misidentified in labs lacking specialized technology. Misidentification may result in ineffective management. It has also caused outbreaks in healthcare facilities.
Because of this, the CDC stressed the significance of rapidly identifying C. auris in a hospitalized patient, so that healthcare facilities can take extra precautions to stop its spread.
According to the CDC, the number of C. Auris clinical cases have increased, with 2,377 clinical cases and 5,754 screening cases reported in the last 12 months. (January 2022 – December 2022).
Climate change as a factor in its prevalence
Meanwhile, an earlier study suggested that climate change may have contributed to the rise of the deadly fungus. The researchers of the study “On the Emergence of Candida auris: Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and Birds,” which was published in the scientific journal mBio, compared the heat tolerance of C. auris to that of related species. While the majority of the species studied do not multiply above 35-37°C (95-98.6°F), C. Auris can withstand temperatures as high as 42°C (107.6°F). The study also stated that the widespread use of antifungal drugs has been suggested as a contributing factor in the fungus’s emergence. Nonetheless, some experts argue that the fungus’s tolerance of high temperatures isn’t enough to prove that its rise is caused by climate change, because it’s unclear when the fungi developed their resistance to high temperatures. Climate change, the researchers admit, is likely just one of many factors that contributed to its emergence.
On the other hand, according to WHO, which published a report in October 2022 highlighting the first-ever list of fungal “priority pathogens” – a catalogue of the 19 fungi that pose the greatest threat to public health – emerging evidence indicates that the incidence and geographic range of fungal diseases are both expanding globally due to global warming and increased international travel and trade.
The WHO fungal priority pathogens list (FPPL) is the first global initiative to systematically prioritize fungal pathogens based on unmet R&D needs and perceived public health importance. The WHO FPPL seeks to focus and drive additional research and policy interventions aimed at strengthening the global response to fungal infections and antifungal resistance.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/Candida-auris/
https://www.who.int/news/item/25-10-2022-who-releases-first-ever-list-of-health-threatening-fungi
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