Millions could face new fungal infection risks as warming global temperatures enable harmful fungi like Aspergillus species to spread widely, a University of Manchester study warns.
United States: There is a possibility that millions more people are becoming vulnerable to infection-causing fungi, and it is most likely spreading because of warming global temperatures, according to scientists.
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Researchers at the University of Manchester showed that the new climate is likely to pose the risk of infections by harmful fungi in subsequent years.
The researchers traced how the increase in temperatures will lead to the distribution of three fungi-\Asergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigates, and Aspergillus niger- infection-causing organisms around the world under various climate conditions until 2100, as stated in the paper, which is awaiting peer review on preprint server Research Square, ABC News reported.
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A lethal fungus that can rot human tissue from within is spreading rapidly across the US, and experts warn the problem could worsen as temperatures rise.
Aspergillus fumigatus is airborne and… pic.twitter.com/wjCBJqugKk
Since Aspergillus, a fungal mold that grows well in warm, damp climates, already exists in other parts of the world, not to mention the US, it can affect both people and animals as well as livestock and vegetation.
However, the latest emission scenarios suggest that a “considerable dispersion” of some of the fungus pathogens may rise within 15 years in Europe and the rest of the world, the authors said.
In this scenario, the reproduction of A. flavus would be 16 percent higher, and one million more individuals in Europe would be at risk of getting infected, as indicated in the paper.
The researchers noted another fungus, A. fumigatus, could rise by 77.5 percent and affect 9 million people across Europe. The paper has suggested that A. fumigatus infects the human lungs and is among the most frequent human pathogens that cause life-threatening infections, as ABC News reported.
The distribution of fungal spores via the air is capable of causing an infection in humans upon inhalation – most notably in vulnerable communities and individuals with compromised immune systems and lung disease, states the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.