One otherwise ordinary fungus The experts are increasingly concerned lately. Most organisms neutralize him, but in cases of an already burdened immune system, there is a serious risk, even for the patient’s life.
Aspergillus is a common fungus in the soil, in herbal residues, in water and in the air. People inhale him daily, but for most the immune system is enough to prevent any complication. But for patients with asthma, cystic fibrosis, COPD, cancer, transplanted organs or a heavy history of COVID-19 or influenza, the fungus can be fatal.
“If the immune system fails to neutralize its spores, the fungus begins to grow and essentially” eats outward “, to say it raw,” explains Norman Van Rain, a researcher at the University of Manchester.
The mortality rate for patients with aspergillosis ranges from 20% to 40%, while the diagnosis is particularly difficult, as symptoms – fever, cough, fatigue – are easily confused with many other diseases.
Another worrying factor is the possibility that fungi will increase their resistance to temperatures, which will allow them to survive more easily in the human body. At the same time, extreme weather events – such as floods, droughts and heatwaves – facilitate the dispersion of their spores over long distances. Characteristic is the outburst of fungal infections after the tornado in Joplin, Missouri in 2011.
The world community, according to researchers, remains inadequately prepared to deal with the fungal threat. There are only four categories of antifungal drugs and more and more executives are resistant.
Professor Justin Remais of the University of Berkeley, who is leading a study in more than 100 million patients in the US, told CNN that more than 20,000 incidents of aspergillosis were recorded between 2013-2023, with an annual increase of 5%. Lack of data, however, may hide much larger numbers.