New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) According to a study published in the medical journal ‘The Lancet’ on Friday, fungal pathogens also need to be focused on in the fight against deadly antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that is posing a threat to public health across the world.
The study, carried out by scientists from the University of Manchester in the UK, the University of Amsterdam and the Westerdyk Institute in the Netherlands, has shown that most of the fungal pathogens identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are either already resistant or are rapidly developing resistance to antifungal drugs.
These fungal pathogens cause the death of approximately 3.8 million people every year.
The study comes ahead of a UN meeting on AMR later this month, calling for efforts to curb AMR by combating resistance that has evolved in multiple fungal pathogens.
The scientists argued that focusing only on bacteria would not help tackle AMR comprehensively. They called for urgent action, without which resistance to the fungal disease would increase.
Aspergillus, Candida, Naccasiomyces glabratus, and Trichophyton indotini are the major fungicide resistant infections.
These can have devastating health effects on the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
Dr Norman van Rijn, of the University of Manchester, said invasive fungal diseases have been responsible for many of the drug resistance problems over recent decades.
However, the threat of fungal pathogens and antifungal resistance has been largely “underestimated” and “kept out of the discussion” by scientists, governments, clinicians, and pharmaceutical companies.
“The extreme similarity between fungal and human cells makes it difficult to find treatments that selectively inhibit the fungal gene without harming human cells,” van Rijn explains.
The scientists suggested a global consensus on limiting the use of certain classes of antifungal molecules.
They also stressed the need to collaborate on solutions and regulations that ensure food security and universal health for animals, plants and humans.
–IANS
AKS/AKJ
