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4th November 2022
Fungi are becoming more commonplace and increasingly dangerous to public health, the WHO warned
The WHO has released a ranked list to educate the public about the dangers of fungi, a growing threat to public health that are becoming increasingly resistant to treatment — with few clinical options on the horizon.
The document catalogues 19 fungal diseases, four of which it says are of ‘critical priority’.
Pathogenic fungi are believed to kill approximately 1.3 million people every year; though this figure is likely higher as some countries lack the tools to document deaths due to pathogenic fungi.
The Prioritization of pathogens to guide discovery, research and development of new antibiotics for drug-resistant bacterial infections, including tuberculosis document said it aims to direct and drive research efforts towards the pathogens that pose the greatest public health threat. It also seeks to inform and enable policymakers to enact measures to address IFDs and antifungal resistance.
People most at risk from fungal infection are those with underlying health problems such as chronic lung disease, prior tuberculosis, HIV, cancer, diabetes mellitus, or a weakened immune system, the WHO said.
The four most dangerous fungi as ranked by the WHO are: Cryptococcus neoformans, which is highly dangerous to HIV patients and acquired through the respiratory route; Candida auris, an antifungal drug-resistant yeast that can spread throughout hospitals; Candida albicans, a yeast that typically lives in the body and can kill people who are immunocompromised; Aspergillus fumigatus, a mould that can be particularly dangerous to cancer patients.
Another potentially lethal fungi included on the list are mucormycosis, which spread throughout Covid-19-patients in India last year, killing over 4,300, as per 2021 figures. Medical professionals believe the immunosuppressant drugs used to fight Covid-19 in critically ill patients weakened their ability to fight off the infection.
The full report can be read here.
Tagged with: Covid-19 lethal fungi WHO
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