Scientists warn: mortality from fungal diseases has doubled in 10 years
Eleven years ago, about 2 million people worldwide died each year from fungal infections. More recent data suggests that today’s figure is almost double that: about 3.8 million deaths. This was reported in a new study by a team of scientists led by David W. Denning, a principal investigator in fungal infections at the University of Manchester.
By comparison, fungal diseases account for about 6.8% of total deaths worldwide. Coronary heart disease accounts for 16% of all deaths, followed by stroke (11%) and smoking-related lung disease (6%). In the latter case, about one third of deaths are also caused by a fungal infection.
To arrive at these estimates, published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, the scientist analyzed diagnosed and treated cases of fungal infections in 120 countries, as well as cases that may have been missed.
The expert notes that many die because doctors are unable to diagnose the fungal disease, or they recognize it too late. But many deaths are also attributed to the lack of effective antifungal drugs. Tests based on fungal cultures detect only about a third of cases of fungal infections.
Unfortunately, as with antibiotic resistance, antifungal drug resistance is a growing problem. Spraying crops with certain types of fungicides significantly increases levels of resistance to a group of antifungals known as azoles.
In severe cases of influenza, there is also a high chance of contracting a life-threatening fungal infection, Aspergillus, which doubles the risk of death, even if the infection is diagnosed correctly and promptly. There is also a strong link between fungal allergies and severe or poorly controlled asthma.
Fungal diseases are here to stay. We are surrounded by them, and they live in our intestines and on our skin.
David W. Denning
Principal Investigator, Manchester Fungal Infections Group, University of Manchester
There are no vaccines against fungi. Severe fungal diseases often occur when people are already sick, with some exceptions when someone lives or works in moldy areas. This is why accurate and timely diagnosis is extremely necessary and why we must take fungi very seriously, the scientist concluded.