TThe first tray of specimen bottles with yellow lids contains chunks of meat, possibly lungs or muscles, cerebrospinal fluid and another fluid, possibly from a brain abscess. The second holds a rainbow of colorful fungi grown from these specimens.
One bud is green and fluffy, like the kind you find in shared house refrigerators – probably Penicillium. The other is dark gray or brown, like animal fur. It has bright white hairballs and dark clumps. Some growths exude red into the medium in which they are placed.
Fungal pathogens come to this Adelaide laboratory, the National Fungal Reference Center, from all over Australia for identification. Mycologists are focusing on new pathogens that are becoming more prevalent due to climate change and could be deadly without effective antifungal drugs.
They work under biohazard signs, sorting specimens, growing colonies on Petri dishes, cutting them out and putting them under the microscope. I have a reference collection of weird and wonderful mycology books, a DNA sequencer, and a box full of azole resistance vials. aspergillus to Zygomycetes.
Dr. Sarah Kidd is the Center Director. She was interested in Cryptococcus gattiiBefore she immigrated to Canada in 2006, it lived in eucalyptus trees and infected koalas. And coincidentally, C Gatti It was all the rage in Vancouver during her stay there. How the fungus associated with Australia originated there was a mystery, but theory suggests it had something to do with changes in global temperatures and perhaps some mutation. I am.
When asked if those mutations scared her, Kidd replied, “Certainly not a good thing…but it makes things interesting.”
Interest in fungal pathogens has recently been further stimulated by the Netflix series The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal, Vera Ramsey, and a number of humans turned into zombies by parasitic fungal infections. There is.
“Fungi from “The Last of Us,” Cordyceps sinensis“It does cause an infection and it kind of turns the insect into a zombie,” Kidd says.
“However, the body temperature of insects is much lower than that of humans, and most fungi cannot grow at 37°C. Fungal zombification of the human brain is therefore unlikely.
“Shows like ‘The Last of Us’ were really great for drawing attention to mycology. Before that, people thought mycology was about mushrooms and foraging. Or maybe you knew that fungi can cause infections in your skin and toenails.
“But I think very few people still really understand that fungi can cause life-threatening infections.”
There are hundreds of types of fungi that can affect humans.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 4 million deaths per year are related to fungal infections. Research published in the Lancet earlier this year – and this number may be significantly underreported.
Pathogens of much greater concern than Cordyceps sinensis At the moment candida auris.
It affects immunocompromised patients, people receiving intensive care, and people with cancer and HIV/AIDS.
Until it enters the bloodstream, Kidd says, the bacteria can live happily alongside humans. It is resistant to many existing treatments and can be easily transmitted from person to person. This is similar to superbugs, which are bacterial infections that have developed resistance to antibiotics.
“They’re calling this the first fungal superbug,” Kidd says, “because it behaves just like those resistant bacteria.”
Another pathogen that is starting to appear in Australia is Trichophyton india. It’s a superficial rash, but it won’t go away. Some people try to self-medicate with ointments, but this is ineffective and resistance builds up.
“The whole family can be affected by these essentially incurable rashes,” says Kidd. “We’re starting to see those people coming into Australia as well.”
Kidd returned to Australia from Canada and took over the center position from emeritus mycologist David Ellis, a legend in the field. Ellis was quick to point out Kidd’s impressive accomplishments, including her paper on fungal renaming, which was listed as one of the top 10 papers of the year by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the book Descriptions of Medical Fungi, for which she was the lead author. do.
Lack of treatment
In 2022, the World Health Organization designated four fungal pathogens as ‘critical’ Of the 19 fungi that pose the greatest threat to public health: Cryptococcus neoformans, candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus and candida albicans.
WHO highlighted the dangers of having only a few antifungal drugs, the spread of fungal diseases due to global warming, international travel and trade, and increased resistance to treatment.
Just a few weeks ago, University of New South Wales microbiologist Dr Megan Lenardon warned that fungi have been historically neglected in infectious disease research.she is studying this Candida These species cause thrush infections in tens of millions of people each year.Thrush itself – abnormal growth of Candida They often occur in the mouth or genital area, but are usually not dangerous. Candida It can be invasive and spread through organs and the bloodstream.
“We call them ‘opportunistic invasive’ fungal pathogens because they don’t kill healthy people,” Lenardon says.
“But if it finds itself in a susceptible host, it may kill it.”
Lenardon said fungi can evolve to withstand high temperatures, meaning they can survive inside humans, but the chance of a pandemic is “probably still relatively low.”
Still, she says there is no imminent vaccine and few preventative treatments in development.
The Adelaide center can screen for infectious diseases and take special precautions for infected patients. They are committed to specialized testing and treatment and hope to be fully equipped to deal with what lies ahead.
“There are no major problems,” Kidd said. candida auris In Australia, it’s “not yet”.
