Fungal infections are evolving and becoming resistant to the medicines used to treat them, causing what some researchers are calling a “silent pandemic” that needs to be addressed urgently. According to molecular biologist Norman van Rhijn from the University of Manchester in the UK, the threat of fungal pathogens and antifungal resistance is being overlooked in global health discussions. 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, he warned, as per Science Alert. 

The biologist, along with an international group of scientists, is urging government, research communities and the pharmaceutical industry to “look beyond just bacteria”. Fungal infections are left out of too many initiatives to tackle antimicrobial resistance, the researchers said, per Science Alert. Without urgent attention, fungal infections could become even more dangerous, they said. 

“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,” Norman van Rhijn and his colleagues, who hail from institutions in China, the Netherlands, Austria, Australia, Spain, the UK, Brazil, the US, India, Turkiye, and Uganda, said. 

Fungal diseases such as Aspergillus fumigatus, which affects the lungs, and Candida, which causes yeast infections, are considered the most dangerous. People with weakened immune systems and older adults are at the highest risk, per the outlet. 

Scientists explained that compared to bacteria and viruses, fungi are more complicated organisms, which makes it harder and more expensive for scientists to develop a medicine that kills the cells of fungi without damaging other important cells in the body. Currently, there are only four classes of antifungal drugs, and resistance to them is increasing. 

“To treat deep or invasive fungal infections, only four systemic antifungal classes are available and resistance is now the rule rather than the exception for those currently available classes,” the researchers wrote. 

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The team said that it is concerned that agricultural practices are contributing to the problem. They explained that fungicides used in farming can cause cross-resistance in the fungi that affect humans. They suggest that the world needs a balance between protecting crops and treating fungal infections. 

“Antifungal protection is required for food security. The question is, how do we balance food security with the ability to treat current and future resistant fungal pathogens?” the researcher wrote. 

The team recommends a global agreement to limit certain antifungal drugs to specific purposes, as well as collaborative regulations to balance food security with health.