Fungi, part of our gut microbiome family, though small in numbers, plays an important role in our health. During these COVID-19 times, Fungus has become more famous, but for wrong reasons. Let us deep dive on role of Fungi & if they are detrimental to our health.
We mostly think of Fungi as minor nuisances: mold on cheese & mushroom springing up after hard rain. We notice them & scrap them away never realizing that fungi itself has its own kingdom that keeps the planet together. Fungi consists of about 6 mission diverse species ranging from baking yeast to wild exotics. They differ from other kingdoms. Unlike animals, they do not have membranes (cell walls); unlike plant, they cannot make their own food; unlike bacteria, they hold their DNA within the nucleus & pack cell with organelles that makes them similar to us at cellular level. Fungi nourish plants, seed cloud, clock our skin & form a formidable part of our gut microbiome. This is now going out of balance. Fungi are going beyond the climate zone they used to live, they are thriving in different environments & learning new behavior that makes them leap between different species in noble ways. While executing these objectives & actions, they are becoming pathogens & threatening human health in many ways.
Worldwide, there are around 300 million people being impacted by fungal infections & 1.6 million die every year due to fungal disease. In the US alone, 75000 people are hospitalized due to fungal infection. This is surprising for medical professionals & scientists, since we are protected from fungi not only through our immune system mechanism, but also because of the fact that we are mammals with our core temperatures higher than fungi prefer. Among people with a strong & healthy immune system, the attack by these Fungi pathogens have been rare. This is so strange since we have been made to believe that bacteria & viruses are dangerous, but we never have fear of fungi.
Earlier fungi used to attack compromised immune system & this is the reason why in earlier years people with impaired immune did not live long. However with advent of medicines, people now have longer lifespan in spite of having compromised immune system. We are not beginning to realize that these Fungi have rented real estate in our gut & profoundly impact our immune system, in case we are suffering from gut dysbiosis (due to regular consumption of medicines & antibiotics).This has become more prevalent since last 2 years when we are actually facing the biggest challenge in mankind- COVID. However, we cannot blame medicine for making us more vulnerable. We humans have done a lot of damage ourselves through ecological imbalance, which has disturbed the balance between fungi & human body which was stable once.
It would be shocking to learn that these fungi have not come externally, they have been living with us in our bodies. However with western lifestyle, we have disturbed our natural defense against fungi which has caused fungal infections & possible deaths due to fungal diseases.
This kind of spread & expansion is a warning, The fungal kingdom is crossing its boundaries & are in look out for new hosts for a possible advantage. Fungi adapt & out of million of species, around 300 who are reason for human diseases.
One of the fungi genus Sporothrix that lives in soil and on plants is introduced into the body by a cut or scratch, this fungus transforms into a budding form resembling a yeast. In the past, the yeast form had not been communicable, but in this epidemic, it was. The fungus with this skill was decreed a new species, Sporothrix brasiliensis. Similar to Sporothrix, Coccidioides (which has impacted human healthy severely) has two forms-Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii. These are fragile that exists in soil and breaks apart when soil is disturbed. Its lightweight components can blow on the wind for hundreds of miles. Once inhaled, the fungus transforms in the s body into spheres packed with spores that migrates via blood, infiltrating skull and spine. To protect, the body produces scar tissue that is blocked off the lungs. This damages the lungs for life.
Similarly, fungus Candida Auri took advantage of COVID & exploited niches opened by chaos caused by COVID. This fungus is really a pathogen. This takes the form of both fungus & yeast. Unlike other pathogenic yeast, living in an individual gut and surging out into their blood or onto mucous membranes when their immune system is compromised. Candida Auri has the ability to pass from one person to another. It has learned to live on metal, plastic, and the surfaces of fabric and paper. When the first onslaught of COVID created a shortage of disposable masks and gowns, it forced health-care workers to reuse gear they discard and C. auris was prepared to attack.
In fact, some of the doctors & scientists discovered that COVID-19 was an inflammatory disease rather than a respiratory. Usually, COVID patients had a low grade inflammation & associated immune response which was neutralised through steroids. These exposed patients were attacked by Fungi Candida Auri. This unseen damage has been witnessed by many hospitals across 40 countries, since healthcare workers unknowingly carried this to hospitals through reused clothing & masks.
The challenge of countering pathogenic fungi is that fungi have gotten very good at protecting themselves against drugs we use to try to kill them. Candida Auri has already shown resistance against drugs.
Currently, the best strategy to counter this fungi is prevention, not any vaccine.
Nice post
Very good article