In 2022, WHO created a priority list of pathogenic fungi and noted invasive fungal diseases are on the rise worldwide, particularly in immunocompromised populations. Could fungi spur the next pandemic?
There are close to 150,000 described species of fungi in the world, and millions remain undiscovered, Fernando Fuentes, MD, wrote in an opinion piece published May 29 on Medscape. About 300 species have been classified as pathogenic in humans with an estimated 1.5 million people dying each year of systemic fungal infections worldwide. These infections are more likely to occur in people with deficient immune systems.
Due to the high prevalence of diseases such as tuberculosis, cancer and HIV, fungal infection rates are increasing. This could be in part due to greater access to critical care units, invasive procedures, chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments, according to the report.
However, environmental changes are also contributing to higher rates of infection. Generally, fungi are unable to survive in the average human body temperature. But as the planet's temperature rises, fungi will adapt, making body temperature no longer a significant barrier. More fungi are also becoming resistant to treatments and few new antifungal medications are hitting the market.
Although fungal threats are rising, the possibility of a pandemic similar to COVID-19 in the short term is small.
"That would be very difficult to see because the way fungal infections are acquired is not from person to person, in most cases," Edith Sánchez Paredes, a biologist, physician in biomedical sciences, and specialist in medical mycology from the Mycology Unit of the Faculty of Medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said in the report.
In the short term, there's consensus that it is not feasible for fungi to generate a pandemic given their transmission mechanism, but it is unclear what might change in the long term, Dr. Fuentes wrote.