Millions could be threatened by a deadly fungus propelled by climate change, primed to sweep across Europe at an alarming pace. Known as Aspergillosis, the disease is a nightmare for the respiratory system and may soon spread widely in several European countries this year, driven by rising temperatures that lay northern regions more open to attack.
Although manageable for many through medication, Aspergillosis presents a life-threatening risk to individuals with pre-existing health conditions such as asthma or cystic fibrosis, making it a grave concern. Meanwhile, the WHO has issued a warning over common misuse of hygiene items that could spread infection
Discussing the issue with the Financial Times, Norman van Rhijn, a Wellcome Trust research fellow at Manchester University and co-author of the study on this hazardous fungus, alertly conveyed: "We're talking about hundreds of thousands of lives, and continental shifts in species distributions."
He forebodingly forecasted that habitat changes over the next 50 years would drastically affect what diseases impact populations: "In 50 years, where things grow and what you get infected by is going to be completely different."
Symptoms of Aspergillosis encompass breathlessness, coughs that may produce blood or mucus, wheezing bouts, fever spells, unintended weight loss episodes, and persistent fatigue. The Mirror advises that those with lung complications might notice aggravated symptoms, which is a prompt to seek guidance from a GP, reports the Express.
Fungal infections are seeing an alarming uptick around the world, with over 150 million severe occurrences and 1.7 million fatalities annually as yeast and mold treatments become increasingly ineffective.
Professor Adilia Warris, a foremost authority on fungal diseases and co-director of Exeter University's MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, remarked: "Fungal infections are very serious, but I think one of the reasons they are not at the forefront of people's minds is that they often come as a complication on top of another disease."
She further stressed: "Everyone knows how horrible cancer is, but what people often don't realise is that cancer patients are also at very high risk of developing fungal infections and they are a significant factor in many cancer deaths."
Detailing the infection mechanism, she described: "It releases tiny spores into the air, which we breathe in. If the lung is already damaged, someone is already ill, or the immune system is too weak, these spores can grow out in a kind of filament. This can cause an infection with inflammation and you get really bad pneumonia."
