Thermoregulation

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• Extreme heat has been breaking records across Europe, Asia and North America, with millions of people sweltering in heat and humidity well above “normal” for days on end.
• Death Valley hit a temperature of 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53.3 degrees Celsius) on July 16, 2023 – not quite the world’s hottest day on record, but close.
• Heat waves are becoming supercharged as the climate changes – lasting longer, becoming more frequent and getting just plain hotter.

The limits of human adaptability

• Scientists and other observers have become alarmed about the increasing frequency of extreme heat paired with high humidity.
• In the Middle East, Asaluyeh, Iran, recorded an extremely dangerous maximum wet-bulb temperature of 92.7 F (33.7 C) on July 16, 2023 – above our measured upper limit of human adaptability to humid heat.
• It was not until recently that this limit was tested on humans in laboratory settings.

The PSU H.E.A.T. Project

• These experiments provide insight into which combinations of temperature and humidity begin to become harmful for even the healthiest humans.
• Each participant swallowed a small telemetry pill that continuously monitored their deep body or core temperature.
• They then sat in an environmental chamber, moving just enough to simulate the minimal activities of daily living, such as showering, cooking and eating.
• That would equal 87 F at 100% humidity or 100 F (38 C) at 60% humidity.

Dry vs. humid environments

• In hot, dry environments the critical environmental limits aren’t defined by wet-bulb temperatures, because almost all the sweat the body produces evaporates, which cools the body.
• However, the amount humans can sweat is limited, and we also gain more heat from the higher air temperatures.
• Keep in mind that these cutoffs are based solely on keeping your body temperature from rising excessively.

How to stay safe

• W. Larry Kenney receives research grant funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging.
• Daniel Vecellio is supported by a training grant from the National Institute on Aging through the Penn State Center for Healthy Aging.
• Rachel Cottle is supported by a training grant from the National Institute on Aging through the Penn State Center for Healthy Aging.

• So we’ll have more hot days and more extremely hot days, which result in an increased frequency, duration and intensity of environmental heat waves.
• Kenney: The primary means by which humans get rid of body heat that’s built up is by evaporation of sweat.
• Why are infants and older adults particularly vulnerable to heat and humidity?
• So individuals on both ends of the age spectrum tend to be particularly vulnerable to what we term classic heatstroke.
• Is the heat index a good measurement of how hot it feels and how people’s bodies are affected by heat?
• It doesn’t account for radiation from the Sun, for example‚ but it’s much better than the heat index because it’s much more physiological.
• Watch the full interview to hear more about how heat and humidity affect your health.

• 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.