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Rising global temperatures may increase the environments where the fungus Aspergillus thrives, new research says
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Some types of Aspergillus fungus are resistant to existing treatment, and can cause a lung disease called Aspergillosis
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Research lead Dr. Norman van Rhijn referenced hit show The Last of Us, which is about a fungal infection causing an apocalypse, saying “reality is already scary enough”
A type of fungus that can grow “astonishingly quickly” — and be fatal to humans — is expected to spread as global warming increases habitats where the fungus thrives.
“Aspergillus species cause severe infections in humans, livestock, and plants,” according to a pre-print from the University of Manchester, home to the largest center for research into fungi and respiratory infections.
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Stock image of mushrooms releasing spores into the air.
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“Fungal pathogens pose a serious threat to human health by causing infections and disrupting food systems.” Viv Goosens, research manager at Wellcome Trust, which funded the research, told Sky News. “Climate change will make these risks worse. To address these challenges, we must fill important research gaps.”
The problem, the research says, is that global warming is encouraging the growth of the fungus; Analysis of the research in Financial Times explains that Aspergillus flavus, which impacts crops, could spread up to 16% by 2100.
Another type of fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus — which causes infections in those with asthma and other disorders — could cover 77% more ground by 2100.
Aspergillus fumigatus causes aspergillosis, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which names it “the leading cause of invasive mold infections in people.” It’s also treatment resistant, and the CDC explains people infected with Aspergillus fumigatus are “33% more likely to die.”
Rising global temperatures fuel the fungus, which grows “astonishingly quickly” in heat, Exeter University’s Elaine Bignell, co-director at the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology told FT.
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Pedro Pascal (right) in season 1 of ‘The Last of Us.’
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“We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of lives, and continental shifts in species distributions,” Dr. Norman van Rhijn, lead author of the study and a research fellow at the University of Manchester, told FT. “In 50 years, where things grow and what you get infected by is going to be completely different.”
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The threat of fungus taking over the world was famously documented in the video game-turned-Max-hit, The Last of Us.
Breathing in the spores causes Aspergillosis, a potentially fatal lung disease marked by headache, fatigue, coughing up blood, and in some cases, can spread throughout the body.
As van Rhijn told Sky News, “Reality is already scary enough.”
Read the original article on People
