'Last of Us' in real life? Deadly fungi are becoming drug resistant
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways
Antifungal resistance - less discussed and well known than antimicrobial resistance (AMR) - is spreading and leaving people more vulnerable to related infections, some of them deadly.
These fungal infections, or mycoses, look little like the brain-controlling fungus that causes a zombie apocalypse in the hit series and video game "The Last of Us" - however experts are warning they pose a rising threat as fatal diseases spreading in hospitals.
"Mycoses resistant to antifungal drugs are on the increase," according to the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), which has linked the growing resistance to overuse and misuse of antifungal treatments.
It is a similar story to the causes of antimicrobial resistance - meaning when bacterial infections are not quelled by antibiotics - the spread of which has been accelerated by over-using antibiotics not only as medication but as ingredients in animal feed on farms.
"Treatments against pathogenic fungi are used in agriculture as well as in human and animal health," the CNRS said, pointing out the "identical resistance mechanisms" shared by antifungals and antibiotics.
"As is the case with over-prescribed antibiotics, to which bacteria have become resistant, the massive use of antifungals is leading to a gradual decline in their effectiveness," the CNRS warned, pointing out that the World Health Organization (WHO) did not draw up a list of "19 articularly dangerous fungi" until 2022.
"The incidence and geographical range of fungal diseases are expanding worldwide," according to the WHO, which at the time said antifungal resistance was the main cause of the expansion.
The CNRS warned of infections caused by a common mould found in soil called Aspergillus, and which can cause a lung disease dangerous to people with weak immune systems.
"Antimicrobial resistance is emerging in Aspergillus fumigatus," according to the U.S government's Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).
Other common fungus-caused diseases are Blastomycosis, which also affects lungs, and Candida auris, which the CDC describes as "a type of yeast that can cause severe illness and spreads easily among patients in healthcare facilities."
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