Conditions | Www.childrenshospital.org
Could Climate Change Bring On A Dangerous, Incurable Fungus?
Experts have long known that the inside of the human body is too warm for most fungal infections, which is a blessing, because these pathogens can be tenacious and deadly. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 7,200 people died from fungal infections in 2021, most of them very sick people who contracted opportunistic fungal infections. But what if Earth's rising temperature leads to a dangerous, incurable fungus that can survive inside an increasing number of humans?
In other words, could climate change spur a fungal apocalypse?
Candida auris is one of the leading opportunistic fungal infections. Scientists believe it emerged around 2009 as a result of Earth's overall changing climate; they were surprised by how deadly it is, and how it's seemingly resistant to many antifungal medications. People in hospitals are especially vulnerable, for the same reasons staph infections and even Covid are able to spread so quickly in hospitals and nursing homes.
More From Popular Mechanics
It seems Candida auris emerged as the result of a one-time shift in the climate that "unleashed" it in some way. For other fungi, their natural outdoor environments will shift because a larger or smaller overall area will now be the temperature they've always needed to thrive.
Illustration of thick-walled arthroconidia and arthrospores from the fungus Coccidioides immitis. This fungus is found in desert and semi-arid regions, and is endemic to the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and South America. C. Immitis is the causative agent of coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley fever. The route of infection is almost always pulmonary, by inhalation of the spores. Agricultural workers are particularly at risk. Symptoms include a cough, chest pain, fever, rash and fatigue.
Getty ImagesThat means climate change will also continue to increase the range of fungal infections in the wild. Such infections are usually not deadly for an average person or someone who seeks prompt treatment, but they can be deadly to vulnerable populations in the same way Candida auris is. Healthy people can also pick them up and get sick just being out in the world.
The leading candidate for a climate-driven opportunistic fungal infection is Valley fever, caused by the fungi Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii, which grow in hot, dry places in California and Nevada. But as climate change shifts the temperatures in other states, cases of Valley fever are increasing in new places, meaning doctors should consider the fungal infection as they diagnose patients with similar symptoms, like cough and fever.
Surviving Extreme Environments
To understand why the fungi that cause Valley fever are spreading outside their endemic locales, it's important to understand how fungi, at large, survive extreme environments.
The fungus kingdom is enormous and robust, with 144,000 species that include mildews, yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. There are also a number of other "fungus-like" organisms, like slime molds and the mycobacterium genus of disease-causing bacteria. Fungi are extremely adaptable and durable, and they're found in virtually every environment on Earth in some form. In Antarctica, fungi that typically live on trees are found on rare remnants from human expeditions. In the very hot, very dry southwestern United States, they cause Valley fever. In Chernobyl, they eat radiation.
With all that in mind, it's a wonder there isn't already a dangerous, incurable fungus; how would climate change make much of a difference? For one thing, consider that fungi will probably colonize Mars before we do. But like the highly specialized finch species of the Galapagos Islands, fungi adapt to these specific, extreme environments over long periods of time. The tradeoffs in one trait over another mean that a desert fungus would probably die out in another environment, because it's become so highly specialized. Fungi are made of delicate filaments, and even digest their food outside of their cellular bodies before sucking in the resulting nutrients. They're as vulnerable to small environmental changes as anything else.
The inside of the human body is typically far too hot for a fungal pathogen, but the outside of our bodies can house all kinds of fungal infections. Athlete's foot is probably one of the most common, caused by fungi that live in moist environments that are not at either temperature extreme. Tinea versicolor is a fungal infection that can discolor the skin. Sporotrichosis is an infection caused by a fungus that can enter the skin if it's pricked by a rose thorn, or sit on skin's surface after touching infected plant matter or even armadillos. (Armadillos also carry leprosy's mycobacteria! Pathogens love this one weird animal.)
And a fungus can make it inside your body, too, especially if it's the kind that produces free-floating spores that may be inhaled. The lungs are inside the hot human body, but they're actually key to its self-cooling mechanism, because they're constantly pulling in drier, typically much cooler outside air and using it to cool passing blood. Yes, the body is like an air conditioner or even the heater in your car. That all means the lungs are cooler and more susceptible to fungus than the rest of the body, just like the feet and the surface of the skin.
Adapting to the Heat
As the world heats up, there will be more and more areas where the outside temperature is no longer so different from the temperature inside the human body. Scientists believe this could both increase the range of existing hot-weather fungi—like the ones that cause Valley fever—and also induce other fungi to adapt to their surroundings until they are comfortable in the range of human body temperature. Scientists don't yet understand the conditions where Coccidioides fungi thrive the most, but the range where Valley fever is reported most covers much of the hot, dry southwestern United States. The fungus is found in the soil and inhaled as spores.
Picture of the yeast candida auris in a petri dish, Wuerzburg University, Germany, January 23, 2018. There has been a recent rise of cases in Germany of seriously ill patients becoming infected with the dangerous yeast.
Getty ImagesValley fever has historically been isolated to Arizona and California, but NBC reported earlier this year that cases have expanded into other states, and will likely continue to grow throughout the entire western United States. The fungus does not have to change or adapt in order to increase its range, because climate change will "adapt" its geographical area instead. More and more places will hit record high temperatures and experience drought conditions where Valley fever-causing fungi can thrive.
The disease, itself, is not an incurable fungus, but treating it can be very difficult and take a long time. More importantly, if Valley fever is not on the radar of a doctor trying to treat what may look like a respiratory infection or even cancer, the delay in treatment can allow the fungus to entrench for a much longer period of time or even the rest of the patient's life. As some fungi become resistant to antifungal medications, it's more important than ever to seek treatment early.
✅ Like those with long Covid, people with Valley fever may develop postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a lifelong condition of the nervous system. POTS is not dangerous on its own, causing more discomfort than anything else; but people with POTS may injure themselves if the condition makes them faint.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says up to 10 percent of people with Valley fever experience long-term effects in their lungs—like long Covid, but for Valley fever. They may develop lung complications that last for years, and the disease can be a gateway to less understood, opportunistic conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis. Those long-term effects can prove to be deadly, but if doctors are more aware of Valley fever in other locations, that will probably help.
Caroline Delbert is a writer, avid reader, and contributing editor at Pop Mech. She's also an enthusiast of just about everything. Her favorite topics include nuclear energy, cosmology, math of everyday things, and the philosophy of it all.
Thrush Directory
Thrush is infection of the mouth caused by a yeast named Candida. Raised, white lesions on the tongue and a cottage cheese-like appearance on the inner cheek are signs of thrush. Thrush is treated with antifungal medicines. Follow the links below to find WebMD's comprehensive coverage about how thrush is contracted, who is at risk, symptoms, treatment, and much more.
Medical Reference View All Video Slideshows & ImagesHas My Daughter Got Thrush?
Little girls are prone to getting infections with the fungus Candida (otherwise known as thrush) in their vulva particularly in hot weather or after a course of antibiotics. Your daughter's itchy soreness may be a result of this.
However other problems can also cause similar symptoms - she may have a urine infection which is burning her when she passes urine, the skin of her vulva may be infected with the same bug that causes sore throats (the beta haemolytic streptococcus), she may have diabetes and be passing urine containing sugar which makes thrush a persistent problem, she may have eczema of the skin in her vulva.
She has already been seen by several doctors, but the important thing is to find out if she has had the following tests:
1 A urine test sent to the laboratory to check for infection.
2 A swab test of her vulva sent to the laboratory to see if it is infected with Candida (thrush), the beta haemolytic streptococcus bacterium or another infection.
3 A urine dipstick test by the doctor to make sure there is no sugar in her urine.
If she turns out to have a urine infection this will need treatment with antibiotics and referral to a paediatrician for further tests to make sure her kidneys and urinary system are normal.
If the vulval swab grows thrush you will need to apply an anti-fungal cream to her vulva 2-3 times a day for at least two weeks and follow the advice you have already been given about not washing with soap (use aqueous cream instead). Also encourage her to eat more live yoghurt or milk products containing lactobacilli as these produce lactic acid which discourages the growth of candida.
If her vulval swab grows the streptococcus she will need treatment with penicillin or a similar antibiotic for at least ten days to eliminate the organism.
If her urine contains sugar your doctor will arrange a blood test to check if she is diabetic. This last possibility is unlikely but should not be missed.
We recommend readers seek personal medical attention in appropriate circumstances
{"status":"error","code":"499","payload":"Asset id not found: readcomments comments with assetId=76919, assetTypeId=1"}
Comments
Post a Comment