High time to tackle drug-resistant fungal infections

There are concerns that the widespread use of fungicides to spray agricultural crops could lead to fungal resistance to similar compounds used in medicine.Credit: Andrii Yalanskyi/Getty Candida auris is a frightening yeast. It was first identified in 2009, in the inflamed ear canal of a Tokyo-based septuagenarian1. Within a decade, researchers had found the yeast in ill people around the world. C. auris is often resistant to disinfectants and antifungal drugs, and can be difficult to kill. Between 30% and 60% of the people it infects will die. Around 3.8 million people die each year of infections caused by C. auris and other fungi. Annual deaths caused by fungal infections have nearly doubled in the past decade. Understanding pathogen emergence through the lens of Candida auris Pathogenic fungi pose unique challenges, and overcoming them will require innovative approaches to both science and policy. Yet, despite the growing global threat posed by drug-resistant fungi, such infectio ... Read full article.