Fungal Diseases Spiked During Pandemic and Are Spreading Due to Climate Change, New WHO Report Finds

Dangerous fungi are spreading due to climate change, while other fungal diseases spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report.

Source: FuseSchool – Global Education/YouTube

This week, the WHO published a report highlighting the first-ever list of fungal “priority pathogens”. They cataloged 19 organisms that their experts identified as being the greatest threat to public health. The fungal priority pathogens list (FPPL) made history as the first global effort to systematically prioritize fungal pathogens. WHO reported that the FPPL will aim to drive more research and policy interventions to strengthen the global response to fungal infections and antifungal resistance.

Fungal pathogens are a threat to public health and are becoming more common due to Climate change as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Fungal infections can greatly affect ill patients and those with underlying immune system conditions.

According to the report, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the reported incidence of invasive fungal infections increased significantly in hospitalized patients. As fungi become more common, they are increasingly resistant to treatment.

“Emerging from the shadows of the bacterial antimicrobial resistance pandemic, fungal infections are growing, and are ever more resistant to treatments, becoming a public health concern worldwide,” said Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Assistant Director-General, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

Fungal infections receive little to no resources or attention, according to the report. The WHO hopes that this new report will bring these threatening fungal diseases into the spotlight and give them the time and research that is needed.

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