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Seidel D, Wurster S, Jenks JD, Sati H, Gangneux JP, Egger M, Alastruey-Izquierdo A, Ford NP, Chowdhary A, Sprute R, Cornely O, Thompson GR, Hoenigl M, Kontoyiannis DP. Impact of climate change and natural disasters on fungal infections. Lancet Microbe 2024:S2666-5247(24)00039-9. [PMID: 38518791 DOI: 10.1016/s2666-5247(24)00039-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
The effects of climate change and natural disasters on fungal pathogens and the risks for fungal diseases remain incompletely understood. In this literature review, we examined how fungi are adapting to an increase in the Earth's temperature and are becoming more thermotolerant, which is enhancing fungal fitness and virulence. Climate change is creating conditions conducive to the emergence of new fungal pathogens and is priming fungi to adapt to previously inhospitable environments, such as polluted habitats and urban areas, leading to the geographical spread of some fungi to traditionally non-endemic areas. Climate change is also contributing to increases in the frequency and severity of natural disasters, which can trigger outbreaks of fungal diseases and increase the spread of fungal pathogens. The populations mostly affected are the socially vulnerable. More awareness, research, funding, and policies on the part of key stakeholders are needed to mitigate the effects of climate change and disaster-related fungal diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danila Seidel
- Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Institute of Translational Research, Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Cologne, Germany; Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Center of Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf (CIO ABCD) and Excellence Center of Medical Mycology (ECMM), Cologne, Germany; German Centre of Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Sebastian Wurster
- ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Division of Internal Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Jenks
- Durham County Department of Public Health, Durham, NC, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Hatim Sati
- Department of Global Coordination and Partnership on Antimicrobial Resistance, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Pierre Gangneux
- Centre National de Référence des Mycoses et Antifongiques LA-AspC Aspergilloses Chroniques, ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, Rennes, France; University of Rennes, CHU Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé Environnement Travail) - UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Matthias Egger
- Division of Infectious Diseases, ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo
- Mycology Reference Laboratory, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nathan P Ford
- Department of HIV/AIDS and Global Hepatitis Programme, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Anuradha Chowdhary
- Medical Mycology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India; National Reference Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistance in Fungal Pathogens, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
| | - Rosanne Sprute
- Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Institute of Translational Research, Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Cologne, Germany; Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Center of Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf (CIO ABCD) and Excellence Center of Medical Mycology (ECMM), Cologne, Germany; German Centre of Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Oliver Cornely
- Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Institute of Translational Research, Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Cologne, Germany; Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Center of Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf (CIO ABCD) and Excellence Center of Medical Mycology (ECMM), Cologne, Germany; German Centre of Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Clinical Trials Centre Cologne (ZKS Koln), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - George R Thompson
- University of California Davis Center for Valley Fever, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA, USA; Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Martin Hoenigl
- Division of Infectious Diseases, ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; BioTechMed, Graz, Austria.
| | - Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis
- ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Division of Internal Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA
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Ross JJ, Koo S, Woolley AE, Zuckerman RA. Blastomycosis in New England: 5 Cases and a Review. Open Forum Infect Dis 2023; 10:ofad029. [PMID: 36726544 PMCID: PMC9887255 DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofad029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The geographic range of blastomycosis is thought to include New England, but documentation is sparse. We report 5 cases of infection with Blastomyces dermatitidis that were likely acquired in New England between 2011 and 2021. Our experience suggests that chart coding for the diagnosis of blastomycosis is imprecise and that mandatory reporting might help resolve uncertainties about the prevalence and extent of blastomycosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- John J Ross
- Correspondence: John J. Ross, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 15 Francis St, PBB-B420, Boston, MA 02115 ()
| | - Sophia Koo
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ann E Woolley
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Linder KA, Kauffman CA, Miceli MH. Blastomycosis: A Review of Mycological and Clinical Aspects. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9. [PMID: 36675937 DOI: 10.3390/jof9010117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Blastomycosis is caused by a thermally dimorphic fungus that thrives in moist acidic soil. Blastomyces dermatitidis is the species responsible for most infections in North America and is especially common in areas around the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and in several south-central and southeastern United States. Other Blastomyces species have more recently been discovered to cause disease in distinct geographic regions around the world. Infection almost always occurs following inhalation of conidia produced in the mold phase. Acute pulmonary infection ranges from asymptomatic to typical community-acquired pneumonia; more chronic forms of pulmonary infection can present as mass-like lesions or cavitary pneumonia. Infrequently, pulmonary infection can progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome that is associated with a high mortality rate. After initial pulmonary infection, hematogenous dissemination of the yeast form of Blastomyces is common. Most often this is manifested by cutaneous lesions, but osteoarticular, genitourinary, and central nervous system (CNS) involvement also occurs. The diagnosis of blastomycosis can be made by growth of the mold phase of Blastomyces spp. in culture or by histopathological identification of the distinctive features of the yeast form in tissues. Detection of cell wall antigens of Blastomyces in urine or serum provides a rapid method for a probable diagnosis of blastomycosis, but cross-reactivity with other endemic mycoses commonly occurs. Treatment of severe pulmonary or disseminated blastomycosis and CNS blastomycosis initially is with a lipid formulation of amphotericin B. After improvement, therapy can be changed to an oral azole, almost always itraconazole. With mild to moderate pulmonary or disseminated blastomycosis, oral itraconazole treatment is recommended.
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Lockhart SR, Toda M, Benedict K, Caceres DH, Litvintseva AP. Endemic and Other Dimorphic Mycoses in The Americas. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:151. [PMID: 33672469 DOI: 10.3390/jof7020151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Endemic fungi are thermally dimorphic fungi that have a limited geographic range and can cause both primary disease and opportunistic infections. The Americas are home to more genera of endemic fungi than anywhere else on earth. These include Coccidioides, Histoplasma, Blastomyces, Paracoccidioides, and Sporothrix. Endemic fungi are found across the Americas and the Caribbean, from Blastomyces gilchristi, which extends into the northeast corners of North America, to Histoplasma capsulatum, which occurs all the way down in the southern regions of South America and into the Caribbean Islands. Symptoms of endemic fungal infection, when present, mimic those of many other diseases and are often diagnosed only after initial treatment for a bacterial or viral disease has failed. Endemic fungi place a significant medical burden on the populations they affect, especially in immunocompromised individuals and in resource-limited settings. This review summarizes the ecology, geographical range, epidemiology, and disease forms of the endemic fungi found in the Americas. An emphasis is placed on new and proposed taxonomic changes, including the assignment of new species names in Histoplasma, Blastomyces, and Paracoccidioides.
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Kaplan M, Zhu Y, Kus JV, McTaggart L, Chaturvedi V, Chaturvedi S. Development of a Duplex Real-Time PCR Assay for the Differentiation of Blastomyces dermatitidis and Blastomyces gilchristii and a Retrospective Analysis of Culture and Primary Specimens from Blastomycosis Cases from New York (2005 to 2019). J Clin Microbiol 2021; 59:e02078-20. [PMID: 33298609 PMCID: PMC8106702 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.02078-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Blastomycosis due to Blastomyces dermatitidis and Blastomyces gilchristii is a significant cause of respiratory mycoses in North America with occasional reported outbreaks. We developed a highly sensitive, specific, and reproducible TaqMan duplex real-time PCR assay for the differentiation of B. dermatitidis and B. gilchristii The new assay permitted retrospective analysis of Blastomyces cultures (2005 to 2019) and primary clinical specimens from blastomycosis cases (2013 to 2019) from New York patients. We identified B. dermatitidis as the predominant pathogen in 38 cases of blastomycosis, while B. gilchristii was a minor pathogen involved in five cases; these findings expand understanding of blastomycosis in New York. The duplex real-time PCR assay could be implemented in reference and public health laboratories to further understand the ecology and epidemiology of blastomycosis due to B. dermatitidis and B. gilchristii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell Kaplan
- Mycology Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA
| | - YanChun Zhu
- Mycology Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Julianne V Kus
- Public Health Laboratory, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa McTaggart
- Public Health Laboratory, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vishnu Chaturvedi
- Mycology Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Sudha Chaturvedi
- Mycology Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, New York, USA
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