38 lakh lives are lost every year due to fungal bacteria: Lancet Study

Deadly Fungal Bacteria: Fungal bacteria cause millions of deaths every year. Elderly people are most at risk. 

Antifungal resistance could soon become a global health problem. It occurs when fungi develop the ability to survive antifungal drugs, which are used to treat fungal infections.

A study published in 'The Lancet' on Friday has called for the need to focus on fungal pathogens in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study has been done by scientists from the University of Manchester, Amsterdam and the Westerdyke Institute in the Netherlands. According to this, most of the fungal pathogens identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) are either already resistant or are rapidly developing resistance to antifungal drugs. 

Every year millions of lives are lost

According to the study, about 3.8 million people die every year due to these fungal bacteria. This report has come before the United Nations meeting on AMR to be held later this month, in which there has been an appeal to include resistance developed in fungal pathogens to control AMR. 

This deadly fungus targets the elderly

The study mentions major fungicide-resistant infections such as Aspergillus, Candida, Naccasiomyces glabratus and Trichophyton indotinis. These pose a serious health threat, especially to the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

Expert opinion

Dr Norman van Rijn of the University of Manchester said, "Invasive fungal diseases have given rise to many drug resistance problems in the past decades. Due to the extreme similarity between fungal and human cells, it is challenging to find treatments that target only fungal cells and do not harm human cells."

Symptoms of fungal infection

Fungal infection usually causes symptoms like itching, pain, redness or rash in the affected area, discoloration of nails, thickening or breakage, pain while eating, loss of taste or white spots in the mouth or throat, painless lump under the skin.