Quick Update: Fungal infections rise in Asia
Researchers warn of a “doomsday scenario” due to heat-related mutations
A June 2024 study published in the journal Nature Microbiology revealed that some common fungi that people have previously been able to defend against—because of strong immune systems and body temperatures too high for fungi to tolerate—are now mutating to survive in warmer climates and, therefore, in humans.
“Temperature-induced mutagenesis can also elicit the development of pan-resistance to three of the most commonly used first-line antifungals,” Jinging Huang and colleagues reported. “...We provide evidence that temperature-dependent mutagenesis can enable the development of pan-drug resistance and hypervirulence in fungi, and support the idea that global warming can promote the evolution of new fungal pathogens.” (1)
In the Hindustan Times, Deutsche Welle reported about this study that “Researchers suggested fungi were adapting to human body temperature and becoming drug resistant,” and then added, “But the idea it's due to climate change is contested.” (2)
Welle points out that, while there are millions of species of fungi on earth that we inhale every day, only about 20 species actually cause illness in people. However, the authors of the Nature Microbiology paper stated that, "The danger and importance of new fungal pathogens is believed to be seriously underestimated."
Although the theory that a warming climate may allow fungi to mutate so they can tolerate the heat; this type of mutation can also allow them to become treatment resistant, as asserted above. While there’s no direct evidence for this heat-related mutagenesis, the Nature Microbiology paper’s authors pointed out that they found “found two patients who had been infected with a group of fungi that had never caused disease in humans before.” (2)
Author’s note: This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Jingjing Huang, Pengjie Hu, Leixin Ye, et al. “Pan-drug resistance and hypervirulence in a human fungal pathogen are enabled by mutagenesis induced by mammalian body temperature”; Nature Microbiology (June 2024).
2. Deutsche Welle. “Fungi are adapting to body heat and becoming drug resistant; a 'doomsday scenario' ”; Hindustan Times, July 6, 2024.
Good grief. Now it's onto Fungus among us (as my dad used to say.)
Even during their best days, the results reported in scientific publications were mostly false due to such problems as flawed experimental design, cherry picked results, improperly identified cell lines, among many others. But, at least, in most cases, experiments of a sort had actually been run. These days, these "prestigious journals" are simply printing propaganda masquerading as science and accompanied by lists of so-called data and pretty images.
Authors string together one fairy tale after another to create cartoonish section headings such as (taken from their actual references):
1) "Completely new" fungal species "hypothesised" "to have emerged" "due to climate change"
2) Fungal species that "have emerged" "to cause significant outbreaks" that "appear" "related to climate change"
3) "New virulent fungal lineages" "with adaptations" "suggested" "to have evolved" "in response to climate change"
I'm sure these non-scientific fictions will make perfect media headlines to frighten great percentages of people who seem unable to discern the endless deceptions. But perhaps I am being too hard- after all, even those supposedly awake still struggle to discern the deceptions of perceived (and fervently defended) heroes such as Dr. McCullough or Dr. Kirsch who continue to spew non-scientfic proclamations regarding treatments for a virus never scientfically proven to exist.
The good news is that life in reality is much simpler and easier than a life of constant natural hazards as presented by the scientific and medical establishment. How many diseases are there in reality- 40,000 or 4? Or none? Do we get sick or merely go through periods of unpleasant detoxification and healing? I think most of us (including myself) have absorbed the century-long Hollywood creation that scientists and MDs actually know what they're talking about. Why were people in the pre-medicalized world healthy, while those in the post-medicalized world face what seems like a constant state of some disease or condition?
snore. when are they gonna clean up their money making messes.