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https://www.sciencealert.com/deadly-fungal-infections-causing-a-silent-pandemic-scientists-warn>
'The world is in the midst of an antibiotic resistance crisis that contributes
to the death of nearly 5 million people a year. But bacteria aren't the only
mutating pathogens we need to worry about.
Fungal infections are also adapting beyond the means of our medicine, causing a
"silent pandemic" that needs to be addressed urgently, according to some
researchers.
"The threat of fungal pathogens and antifungal resistance, even though it is a
growing global issue, is being left out of the debate," explains molecular
biologist Norman van Rhijn from the University of Manchester in the UK.
This September, the United Nations is hosting a meeting in New York City on
antimicrobial resistance, which includes discussions on resistant bacteria,
fungi, viruses, or parasites.
Ahead of this event, van Rhijn and an international team of scientists are
urging governments, the research community, and the pharmaceutical industry to
"look beyond just bacteria."
Fungal infections, they write in a correspondence for The Lancet, are left out
of too many initiatives to tackle antimicrobial resistance.
Without urgent attention and action, some particularly nasty fungal infections,
which already infect 6.5 million a year and claim 3.8 million lives annually,
could become even more dangerous.
"The disproportionate focus on bacteria is concerning because many drug
resistance problems over the past decades were the result of invasive fungal
diseases, which are largely under-recognized by the community and governments
alike," write van Rhijn and his colleagues, who hail from institutions in
China, the Netherlands, Austria, Australia, Spain, the UK, Brazil, the US,
India, Türkiye, and Uganda.'
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
