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Brilio.net - Scientists in China were shocked by the discovery of a previously unknown fungal pathogen that had the effect of infecting humans. The fungus is Rhodosporidiobolus fluvialis. It is known the fungus has been found in clinical samples from two unrelated hospital patients. In trials, the researchers found the yeast was resistant to several first-line antifungal drugs at higher temperatures, around human body temperature.
Not only in humans, scientists also found that this temperature gave rise to "hypervirulent mutants" which were capable of causing more severe disease in experimental mice. Reporting from livescience.com, the fungus Rhodosporidiobolus fluvialis or abbreviated as R. fluvialis was found in the blood of 2 patients who had fungal infections and experienced serious health conditions. 1 A patient aged 61 died in the intensive care unit (ICU) in Nanjing in 2013 and another patient aged 85 also died in 2016 after being treated in the ICU in Tianjin.
Although, the report stated that it was not recorded whether fungal infections had contributed to the deaths of those who had been infected with the fungus. To treat it, patients are given common antifungal medications including fluconazole and caspofungin. Laboratory studies carried out by the team then found that R. fluvialis was resistant to both drugs. Drug resistance means that the fungus has developed the ability to survive or grow despite the presence of two specific types of antifungal drugs.
"This is an extraordinary and completely unexpected finding, which bodes badly for the future," David Denning, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Manchester in England who was not involved in the study, told Science.
You need to know that fungal infections are invasive and attack tissue in the body. Most fungi attack people whose immune systems have been weakened, such as by HIV infection or due to taking immunosuppressant drugs. In the case of a 61 year old man infected with R. fluvialis experiencing immunosuppression, and an 85 year old man suffering from diabetes which can inhibit immune function.
Rising global temperatures encourage fungi to adapt
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The increase in global temperatures causes fungi to adapt and expand their geographic range. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, average global surface temperatures have increased by around 1 degree Celsius since the pre-industrial era. This result indicates that the fungus is more likely to come into contact with humans. New pathogens such as Candida auris are drug-resistant and have been identified in more than 40 countries since they were discovered in 2009.
Meanwhile, development of new antifungal drugs has largely stalled, leaving few options to fight resistant infections. In the new study, the researchers created mice with weakened immune systems and were sickened with R. fluvialis. The results showed that some fungal cells evolved rapidly to grow more aggressively.
It didn't stop there, the team then observed the fungus in a laboratory dish whose temperature was maintained at human body temperature of around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius). At that temperature, yeast mutates 21 times faster than at room temperature, about 77 F (25 degrees Celsius).
Another fact is also caused by the hot weather. Hot weather makes R. fluvialis more likely to become drug-resistant. When exposed to the antifungal drug amphotericin B, yeast develops resistance more quickly at body temperature than at room temperature.
If yeast such as R. fluvialis are more likely to become virulent and drug-resistant at high temperatures then global warming could potentially drive the evolution of dangerous new fungal pathogens, the team wrote in the paper.
However, some scientists argue that there should be no rush to conclusions about R. fluvialis. One of them is Matthew Fisher, a professor of fungal disease epidemiology at Imperial College London who was not involved in the research. He told Science that yeast should not yet be seen as a major emerging threat.
"My first feeling here is that there is an unsurveyed environment in China where this yeast lives, and that these two patients were quite unlucky to be exposed," he told Science as reported by brilio.net from livescience.com.
With the worrying growth of mold, you must be more aware of exposure that has the potential to threaten your health. For this reason, brilio.net, which summarizes from various sources, will provide several tips for maintaining health to avoid various diseases. The tips are as follows:
1. Eat nutritious food, such as eating 400 grams of vegetables and fruit/5 portions a day.
2. Regularly do physical activity for at least 30 minutes per day or 150 minutes/week.
3. Stop smoking or avoid exposure to cigarettes and cigarette residue.
4. Stop consuming alcohol.
5. Maintain and monitor body weight to keep it ideal.
6. Check blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index regularly.
(brl/far)
