Fungal infections in the brain aren't just the stuff of movies – Africa grapples with a deadly epidemic
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Donnerstag, Juli 13, 2023
Gaps, Review, Infection, Canker, Pressure, Human, Fungal infection, HIV, Atmosphere, Culture, Health care, Pneumocystis jirovecii, Fever, Cough, Immunodeficiency, Inflammation, Cryptococcosis, Brain, Research, COVID, Mucormycosis, Fungus, Facial, Thermoregulation, Death, Climate change, The Last of Us, Soil, Patient, Population, Risk, Cryptococcus neoformans, Pneumocystidomycetes, Immune system, Lower respiratory tract infection, Steroid, Diagnosis, Flucytosine, Health, Environment, Meningitis, Cryptococcus, Pneumonia, Skin, Disease, Truffle, Pharmaceutical industry, Vaccine
I am a neurobiologist who has been studying fungal infections of the brain for 10 years.
Key Points:
- I am a neurobiologist who has been studying fungal infections of the brain for 10 years.
- I was part of a team that recently published a review discussing the emergence, and re-emergence, of fungal infections in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
- We conclude that Africa is suffering from a silent, but costly, epidemic of fungal infections.
What are fungal infections?
- For the greater part of the history of humankind, fungal infections were never a threat to human health.
- Even then, our immune systems are quite capable of fighting against fungal infections.
- Africa accounts for 67% of the global burden of HIV, and opportunistic fungal diseases are on the rise.
Some examples
- Today, sub-Saharan Africa contributes about 73% of all global cases and deaths resulting from the disease.
- Cryptococcal meningitis is caused by the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, which is found in soil and bird droppings.
- It first leads to the development of a lung infection and later a fatal brain infection.
- Cryptococcal meningitis is a leading cause of adult meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa and it’s associated with almost 20% of all AIDS-related deaths.
Growing burden
- While these factors are not unique to Africa, the burden of fungal diseases and the number of people who succumb to them is much greater.
- The COVID pandemic seems to have made the global fungal burden worse.
- COVID-induced lung damage, high blood sugar, and the steroids often used to treat it are all predisposing factors to black fungus infection.
But don’t we have antifungal drugs?
- With poorly funded and overburdened healthcare systems, many African countries are not well prepared to deal with fungal infections.
- Additionally, some of the WHO-recommended antifungal drugs – such as flucytosine – are unavailable in most African countries.
Management strategies
Fungal threats are adding pressure to overburdened health systems with a limited arsenal of treatment options. Healthcare professionals, scientific researchers, policymakers and governments must address the gaps in the diagnosis and management of fungal infections. This will help to improve capacity to deal with them.