Two studies about fungal infections published in the latest edition of the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal indicate that cases might spike soon.
“A serious threat to human health is the emergence of new multidrug-resistant fungal species,” said one of the studies, focused on a Candida vulturna outbreak at a hospital in Shanxi, China.
Fans of the video game and HBO series “The Last of Us” might already be having nightmares about a fungal outbreak. In the show, the fungus takes over human bodies and makes them into zombies, much like the real life Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus that infects ants.
While the Candida vulturna fungus doesn’t turn people into zombies, researchers are still very concerned about it.
“Given the transmissible, adhesive, and antifungal drug–resistant characteristics of emerging C. vulturna clinical isolates, C. vulturna could be a serious upcoming threat to hospital infections worldwide,” said the study authors. This fungus is related to Candida auris, which spread at an alarming rate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another study in the Emerging Infectious Disease journal found that hospitalizations involving fungal infections increased 8.5% each year in the U.S. during 2019–2021. These infections were driven by COVID-19 associated fungal infections. Although the emergency public health order related to the pandemic ended last month, there were still more than 6,600 hospitalizations for the viral infection in the U.S. during the week ending Tuesday.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, and to increase preparedness for future infectious diseases outbreaks, comprehensive public health surveillance for fungal diseases is needed to characterize disease epidemiology and guide efforts to prevent illness and death,” said the study.
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