A research warns that pathogenic mushrooms, responsible for millions of deaths each year, will expand significantly in new regions as the planet warms up.
The Aspergillus fungus spreads the photo quickly: Shuterstock
Mushrooms are absolutely everywhere. This vast biological kingdom, which includes from mold to edible mushrooms, prosper in soil, compost and water. They play an essential role in ecosystems, but they can become extremely dangerous to human health: fungal infections kill about 2.5 million people annually, and the lack of accurate data could mean that the actual number is much higher. They play an important role in ecosystems, but they can have a devastating impact on human health.
According to CCN, a team of scientists at the University of Manchester has used computerized simulations and forecasts to potentially spreading future Aspergillus, a common group of mushrooms that can be found in the world and can cause aspergilosis, a disease that endangers life and which mainly affects the lungs.
The researchers found that certain species of Aspergillus will expand their spreading area as the climatic crisis will intensify, entering new areas of North America, Europe, China and Russia.
Most affected people
“Mushrooms are relatively little researched compared to viruses and parasites, but these maps show that fungal pathogens will probably affect most areas of the world in the future.” said Norman Van Rijn, one of the authors of the study and researcher in the field of climate change and infectious diseases at the University of Manchester.
Aspergillus mushrooms grow like small filaments in soils around the world. Like almost all mushrooms, they release a huge number of tiny spores that spread in the air.
People inhale spores every day, but most will have no health problems; Their immune system eliminates them. But more affected are people with lung disease, including asthma, cystic fibrosis and COPD, as well as for people with a compromised immune system, such as cancer and organ transplant patients and those who had severe or Covid-19 flu.
If the body’s immune system fails to eliminate spores, the fungus “It starts to grow and, practically, eats you from the inside to the outside, saying it very directly.”said Van Rijn.
Aspergilosis has very high rates
Aspergilosis has a very high mortality rate of about 20-40 %, warns the researcher. It is also very difficult to diagnose, because doctors do not always consider it, and patients often present with fever and cough, symptoms common to many diseases.
Also, fungal pathogens become more and more resistant to treatment, Van Rijn added. There are only four classes of antifungal drugs available.
All this means bad news, because climate change opens new areas for colonization of Aspergillus.
According to the study, Aspergillus Flavus, a species that tends to prefer tropical, warmer climates, could increase their spread by 16% if people continue to burn large amounts of fossil fuels. It is expected to enter regions of northern America, northern China and Russia.
This species can cause serious human infections and is resistant to many antifungal drugs. It also infects a series of food crops, representing a potential threat to food security.
Where it develops
It is expected that Aspergillus fumigatus, which prefers more temperate climates, will spread to the north, as the north pole, as global temperatures increase.
According to the study, its spread could increase by 77.5% to 2100, exposing 9 million people in Europe.
On the contrary, temperatures in some regions, including sub -Saharan Africa, could become so high that they are no longer hospitable for Aspergillus fungi. This could bring its own problems, because mushrooms play an important role in ecosystems, including healthy soils.
In addition to expanding their growth area, heating the world could increase the tolerance of fungi to temperature, allowing them to survive better inside the human body.
Extreme meteorological phenomena such as drought, floods and heat waves can also affect fungi, contributing to the spread of long distances.
New Aspergillus study “It rightly sees the threat represented by the fungi that live in our natural environment and how poorly we are to cope with changes in their prevalence.”said Elaine Bignell, co-director of the MRC Center for Medical Micology at Exeter University.
