Can we stop killer fungi?

Fungal diseases are becoming more common, more dangerous, and more difficult to treat. There’s concern that they may cause the next global pandemic.

Rising global temperatures, better survival rates for vulnerable patients, and increased medical interventions contribute to the rise in fungal infections. Access to effective diagnostics and treatment remains limited, with significant disparities between high and low-income countries.

Treating fungal infections is becoming more challenging as they build resistance

to the drugs used to treat them. New therapies are being developed, including treatments that disrupt fungal DNA replication or interfere with essential proteins, offering some hope for long-term control.

Contributors:

Adilia Warris, Professor in Paediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Exeter, UK

Rita Oladele, Professor of Clinical Microbiology, University of Lagos and Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Arturo Casadevall, Professor and Chair of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, US

Michael Bromley, Professor in Fungal Disease, University of Manchester, UK

Presenter: Tanya Beckett

Producer: Louise Clarke

Researcher: Maeve Schaffer

Editor: Tara McDermott

Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford

Production co-ordinator: Tammy Snow

(Image: Aspergillus fumigatus, seen under an optical microscope. Credit: BSIP/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)