Fungal infections doubling death rate, vaccines awaited

Recently, there has been a concerning increase in deaths due to fungal infections. These infections, which are caused by fungi - tiny organisms found in soil, air and water, have doubled over the last ten years.

Unfortunately, we still don't have any vaccines that can prevent these infections.

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Fungal infection deaths on the rise, vaccines not yet available

Many are infected by these infections (Image via Unsplash/Rachel Horton)

Dr. David Denning, a professor at the University of Manchester, studied the problem. Every year, about 3.8 million people around the world die from these infections.

To understand it better, think about this: Around 6.8% of all the people who die in the world each year die from fungal infections. Only heart disease and stroke cause more deaths. Some types of lung disease are usually associated with smoking. Fungal infections cause about one-third of the deaths from these diseases.

Fungi also cause other health issues. They lead to pneumonia and tuberculosis - two serious diseases that cause a great deal of suffering and death. Every year, 2.6 million people die from pneumonia and 1.2 million from tuberculosis.

Prof. Denning also spoke about the types of fungi that usually cause problems. The most serious ones are Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus. These fungi cause lung infections.

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Who is at risk?

Candida Auris is a deadly fungal infection (Image via Vecteezy)

People with lung diseases, like asthma and lung cancer, are at high risk of getting an infection. Others at risk include people with blood cancer called leukemia, those who have had an organ transplanted into their body, and people being cared for in intensive care units in hospitals.

There's another type of fungal infection that's a cause for concern. It's caused by Candida - a type of fungus. A particular strain of Candida, known as Candida auris, caused trouble in hospitals in the United States last year.

It killed about one-third of the people who got infected with it. Candida fungi are usually present in the gut. The problem starts when a person is very ill, and the fungus gets into their bloodstream.

Treating these infections be difficult without the vaccine (Image via Unsplash/Diana Polekhina)

The trouble with fungi infections is that they're becoming increasingly difficult to treat. Just like bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, fungi are also becoming resistant to drugs that are used to treat fungal infections.

There have been some frightening trends observed recently. India saw the first large-scale outbreak of a disease caused by a fungal infection known as 'black fungus.' This race of fungal infection blocks blood vessels and kills tissues.

Patients with the flu who are admitted to intensive care units are also at high risk. They can get a life-threatening Aspergillus infection, which doubles their risk of death.

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According to Dr. Denning, awareness is the key to addressing this problem. He believes that the people in charge of health care need to be more aware of fungal infections. They need to diagnose these infections quickly and accurately.

"Fungal diseases are here to stay," he warns. The fungi that cause these diseases are all around us. They're in our gut and on our skin. Most people who get severe fungal diseases are already sick, with a few exceptions of healthy people getting infected.

The lack of a vaccine makes prevention of these infections difficult. That's why timely diagnosis and treating these diseases seriously are critical to saving lives.