Killer fungus will spread as climate heats up, experts warn
Aspergillus could reach more northerly countries in Europe, Asia and America, according to a study co-authored by Norman van Rhijn, a Wellcome Trust research fellow at Manchester University.
He said the world was approaching a tipping point in the proliferation of fungal pathogens, which can thrive in environments ranging from arid habitats to damp corners of houses.
Fungal infections are estimated to be a factor in millions of deaths worldwide each year. One leading danger is aspergillosis, a lung disease caused by spores that can spread to other organs.
Van Rhijn told the FT: 'We're talking
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The Guardian
5 days ago
- The Guardian
Stuart Farrimond obituary
My husband, Stuart Farrimond, who has died aged 43 of a brain tumour, was a bestselling science author, educator and broadcaster with an extraordinary gift for making science feel human and accessible. In 2008, a year after Stu and I married, our lives were turned upside down by his diagnosis. He was unshakeably positive and always focused on making the most of the cards he had been dealt. Rather than retreating in the face of a life-limiting cancer diagnosis, he poured his energy into reinvention. He redirected his career from clinical medicine into science education and communication, and thrived. Through his writing and media work, Dr Stu became a familiar name in the world of popular science. He made countless appearances on national television and his books, including The Science of Cooking (2017), The Science of Spice (2018) and The Science of Living (2021), are now in more than a million homes around the world. Yet he remained humble and grounded in his quiet faith. After founding his own science magazine project, Guru, in 2011, which received Wellcome Trust funding and brought together some of the top science minds from around the world, Stu contributed regularly to news outlets, including the BBC, New Scientist and the Guardian. His true gift was in making a connection. Whether giving a talk or simply chatting to friends over a coffee, Stu had an uncanny ability to spot the person at the edge of the room – the one who felt left out – and draw them in. He had a genuine interest in other people. Born in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Stu was the son of Maree, a community pharmacist, and Bob Farrimond, who worked for Britannic Insurance, and a younger brother to Laura. The family moved to Nottingham when he was a baby, and then to Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire when he was eight. When he was 15, they relocated to Jersey, where Stu completed his GCSEs and A-levels at Hautlieu school. He went on to study medicine at the University of Nottingham. Stu and I met while he was still at Nottingham, and I was working as a nursery nurse in Birmingham, and we married in 2007. He completed his training at Musgrove Park hospital in Taunton before being accepted on to the GP training programme at the Royal United hospital in Bath, and we settled in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. At home, he was a quiet and caring soul, doing the morning crossword, tending the garden, walking our dog, Winston, and always, always making me laugh. He is survived by me, Maree and Bob, and Laura.
NBC News
09-07-2025
- NBC News
Fungal infections are getting harder to treat
Fungal infections are getting harder to treat as they grow more resistant to available drugs, according to research published Wednesday in The Lancet Microbe. The study focused on infections caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, a fungus that is ubiquitous in soil and decaying matter around the world. Aspergillus spores are inhaled all the time, usually without causing any problems. But in people who are immunocompromised or who have underlying lung conditions, Aspergillus can be dangerous. The fungus is one of the World Health Organization's top concerns on its list of priority fungi, which notes that death rates for people with drug-resistant Aspergillus infections range from 47%-88%. The new study found that the fungus's drug resistance is increasing. On top of that, patients are typically infected with multiple strains of the fungus, sometimes with different resistance genes. 'This presents treatment issues,' said the study's co-author, Jochem Buil, a microbiologist at Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Buil and his team analyzed more than 12,600 samples of Aspergillus fumigatus taken from the lungs of patients in Dutch hospitals over the last 30 years. Of these, about 2,000 harbored mutations associated with resistance to azoles, the class of antifungals used to treat the infections. Most of them had one of two well-known mutations, but 17% had variations of these mutations. Nearly 60 people had invasive infections — meaning the fungi spread from the lungs to other parts of the body — 13 of which were azole-resistant. In these people, nearly 86% were infected with multiple strains of the fungi, making treatment even more complicated. 'It is an increasingly complicated story and physicians may have trouble identifying whether or not they are dealing with a drug-resistant fungal infection,' said Dr. Arturo Casadevall, chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who wasn't involved with the research. Before treating an Aspergillus fungal infection, doctors look for resistance genes that can give them clues about which drugs will work best. If someone is infected with multiple strains of the same type of fungus, this becomes much less clear-cut. Oftentimes, different strains will respond to different drugs. 'Azoles are the first line of treatment for azole-susceptible strains, but they do not work when a strain is resistant. For those, we need to use different drugs that don't work as well and have worse side effects,' Buil said, adding that some people will require treatment with multiple antifungal drugs at the same time. The findings illustrate a larger trend of growing pressure on the few drugs available to treat fungal infections — there are only three major classes of antifungal drugs, including azoles, that treat invasive infections, compared with several dozen classes of antibiotics. Resistance to these drugs is growing, and new ones are uniquely difficult to develop. Humans and fungi share about half of their DNA, meaning we're much more closely related to fungi than we are to bacteria and viruses. Many of the proteins that are essential for fungi to survive are also essential for human cells, leaving fewer safe targets for antifungal drugs to attack. 'The big problem for all of these fungal species is that we don't have a lot of antifungals,' said Jarrod Fortwendel, a professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, who was not involved with the research. 'Typically the genetic mutations that cause resistance don't cause resistance to one of the drugs, it's all of them, so you lose the entire class of drugs.' Further complicating matters, the vast majority of azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus stems from agriculture, where fungicides are widely used. These fungicides typically have the same molecular targets as antifungal drugs. Farmers spray them on crops, including wheat and barley in the U.S., to prevent or treat fungal disease. (The first instance of azole resistance was documented in the Netherlands, where antifungals are widely used on tulips.) Aspergillus fungi aren't the target, but exposure to these fungicides gives them a head start developing genes that are resistant to these targets, sometimes before an antifungal drug with the same target even hits the market. This was the source of the vast majority of the drug resistance analyzed in the study. Fortwendel noted that fungal resistance is increasingly found around the world. 'Basically everywhere we look for drug-resistant isotopes, we find them,' he said. 'We are seeing this azole drug-resistance happening throughout the U.S. Those rates will likely climb.' Any individual person's risk of having an azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus is low, Casadevall said. Infections typically affect people who are immunocompromised and amount to around a few thousand cases per year in the U.S., Casadevall estimated. While relatively uncommon, the bigger risk is the broader trend of drug-resistant fungal infections. 'The organisms that cause disease are getting more resistant to drugs,' he said. 'Even though it's not like Covid, we don't wake up to a fungal pandemic, this is a problem that is worse today than it was five, 10 or 20 years ago.'
Scottish Sun
09-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Not washing your bed sheets enough could lead to serious lung infections, warns expert – six signs you could be at risk
Different types of bedding require different washing routines, according to an expert OH SHEET Not washing your bed sheets enough could lead to serious lung infections, warns expert – six signs you could be at risk WE all have our unique bedtime routines, whether it's limiting screen time before bed, making sure your bedroom's the right temperature before slipping under the sheets, or deciding on a set bedtime. And the same can be said when it comes to our sheets. 2 Failing to wash your bedding often enough can have a detrimental impact on your health Credit: Getty While some people love fresh sheets once a week, others make changing their bedding a monthly ritual. But how often should you really be washing them? The feeling of clean, fresh sheets is a universally loved sensation, often described as comforting, relaxing, and conducive to better sleep. But according to science, regular washing is more than just a question of cleanliness. According to Primrose Freestone, a senior lecturer in clinical microbiology at the University of Leicester, people shed hundreds of thousands of skin cells each night, excrete oils from the sebaceous glands, and sweat up to half a pint of fluid. And that's even after showering just before bed. Writing for The Conversation, she explained: "Our skin hosts millions of bacteria and fungi, many of which are transferred onto sheets, pillows and duvets as we move during the night. "That fresh sweat may be odourless, but bacteria on our skin, particularly staphylococci, break it down into smelly byproducts. "This is often why you wake up with body odour, even if you went to bed clean." But it's not just about these microbes. Doctor shares why you must never wash clothes at 90 or 40 degrees & the right temperature for 'everything but gym gear' During the day, our hair and bodies collect pollutants, dust, pollen and allergens, and this transfers onto our bedding, adds Freestone. As well as triggering allergies and affecting our breathing, flakes of skin become food for dust mites. Freestone warned: "The mites themselves aren't dangerous, but their faecal droppings are potent allergens that can aggravate eczema, asthma and allergic rhinitis." Fungi can find your bed appealing too. She added: "Some species, like aspergillus fumigatus, have been detected in used bed pillows and can cause serious lung infections, particularly in people with weakened immune systems." Six signs you could be at risk of aspergillosis Aspergillosis is an infection caused by breathing in spores of Aspergillus, a common mould. While most people don't get sick from it, it can cause mild to severe illness. There are six signs you could have aspergillosis, according to the NHS: Shortness of breath A cough - you may cough up blood or lumps of mucus Wheezing A high temperature Losing weight without trying Feeling tired If you've had a cough for more than three weeks, have a lung condition that's getting worse or harder to control with your usual treatment, or have a weakened immune system and symptoms of aspergillosis, see a GP. So how often should you wash your bedding? 2 Make sure to air your mattress every few days and replace it every seven years Credit: Getty It depends on the type of bedding, says Freestone. For sheets and pillowcases, wash them weekly, or every three to four days if you've been ill, sweat heavily, or share a bed with pets. You should also wash therm at 60°C or higher with detergent to kill bacteria and dust mites. Tumble drying or ironing is advised for deeper sanitation, and to target dust mites inside pillows, freeze them for at least eight hours. When it comes to your mattress, vacuum this weekly, airing the mattress every few days. Replacing your mattress every seven years can help maintain hygiene and support. Pillows should be washed every four to six months - just check the wash label first. Blankets and duvet covers should be done every two weeks, especially if your pet sleeps on them. And duvets need washing every three to four months, depending on usage.
