- A common form of fungus, found both indoors or outdoors, can cause lung damage in immunocompromised people.
- These molds are becoming more resistant to drugs, making it harder to treat infections.
- A new genetic study has revealed that antifungals found in agricultural crops are the main reason for this rising drug resistance.
The fungus Aspergillus fumigatusIt is everywhere. It is common indoors and out, so most people inhale and exhale it daily to no health effects.
Globally, there are approximately 10 to 20,000,000 people with compromised immune systems. However its spores remain inside the lungs.
Aspergillosis can be treated with the administration of azole antifungal drugs. These drugs have become increasingly ineffective over the years.
A new study by Imperial College London researchers has shown that long-term agricultural use of azole antifungals could have led to drug resistance. Aspergillus fumigatus.
Imperials Dr. Johanna RhodesThe study’s lead author, Claude, says Imperial College London NewsAspergillosis is becoming more difficult to treat with first-line azole medications.
Senior author of the study notes that we must quickly understand the environmental hotspots, genetic basis and evolution of fungal drug resistant. This is because resistance is threatening our ability prevent and treat this disease. Professor Matthew Fisher.
The prevalence of drug resistant aspergillosis has increased from a negligible number before 1999 to as high as 3-40% in Europe today.
Prof. Matthew Fisher
A growing number of vulnerable people, especially since the pandemic, adds to the urgency.
However, it is possible that more people are susceptible. Aspergillus fumigatusProf. Fisher says that an increasing number of people are suffering from infection due to receiving stem cell transplants or solid organ transplants. He also adds that immunosuppressive therapy is becoming more common in patients with severe viral respiratory infections. COVID-19 is a common respiratory infection.
The journal publishes the study.
Antifungals with Azole are available
There are many other antifungals for filamentous fungal diseases. However, intravenous administration is the only way to administer these antifungals. Azoles can be found here [the]So far, there has been no oral antifungal.
He also mentioned that there may be an alternative to the azoles currently in clinical trials.
Researchers collected 218 Aspergillus fumigatusIsolates from England, Wales, Scotland, 2005 to 2017. A little over 7 in 10 molds or 153 samples came from patients in five hospitals. The environment provided 65 additional samples.
Nearly half of the samples, 48%, or 104, were found to be resistant to itraconazole (the most commonly used antifungal azole azole).
64 of the remaining drug-resistant samples were resistant to voriconazole (or 29%), and 21% to posaconazole (or two other azole antifungals).
Over 10% of the 23 samples from the environment and 3 from patients were resistant to at least two or three azole medications.
Researchers extracted DNA from molds to establish connections between the two sets.
Genetic analysis of the samples showed that six were identical. AspergillusSix patients had been infected by strains that were found in their environment.
The study describes the genetic relationship between their patient and their environmental samples as very high.
The spores AspergillusDr. Takazono stated that the particles are everywhere in the air.
[Aspergillus fumigatus spores]The wind can easily spread the spores. Another possibility is the attachment of soil spores to agricultural products. This can allow them to spread to an immunocompromised host.
Dr. Takahiro Takazono
Dr. Rhodes states that it is not clear how patients contract these infections.
Both routes of infection can be found in our study. This confirms the concern that mold spores from the environment may be able to enter people’s lungs and infect them, which could lead to more difficult-to-treat conditions.
The study revealed that patients at high risk of contracting azoles from the environment were infected by an isolate that has pre-acquired its resistance to azoles in nature. This is despite the fact that no patient has been found to transmit the disease to others. Aspergillus fumigatusTo the environment.
A new type resistance
The genetic analysis separated the samples into two distinct groups, or clades. Clade A contained 123 isolates while Clade B contained 95. Clade A samples comprised 80% of drug-resistant isolates and Clade B 95 samples comprised 87%.
The researchers discovered that the genetic material could be swapped, which would allow for new drug-resistant combinations.
These findings indicate the existence of new resistance mechanisms that have an underlying
