Pathogenic fungus
Pathogenic fungi are
In 2022 the World Health Organization (WHO) published a list of fungal pathogens which should be a priority for public health action.[4]
Markedly more fungi are known to be pathogenic to plant life than those of the animal kingdom.[5] The study of fungi and other organisms pathogenic to plants is called plant pathology.
Pathogens of particular concern
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022 pathogens of particular concern are:[4]
- Critical priority
- Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans.
- High priority
- Nakaseomyces glabrata (Candida glabrata), Histoplasma spp., eumycetoma causative agents, Mucorales, Fusarium spp., Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis.
- Medium priority
- Scedosporium spp., Lomentospora prolificans, Coccidioides spp., Pichia kudriavzeveii (Candida krusei), Cryptococcus gattii, Talaromyces marneffei, Pneumocystis jirovecii, Paracoccidioides spp.
Candida
C. auris, first described in 2009, is resistant to many frontline antifungal drugs, disinfectants, and heat, which makes it extremely difficult to eradicate. Like many fungal pathogens it mostly affects immunocompromised people; if in the blood or other organs and tissues, mortality is about 50%.[3]
Other species of Candida may be pathogenic as well, including
Aspergillus
The most common pathogenic species are
The spores of
Cryptococcus
Infecting C. neoformans cells are usually phagocytosed by
The haploid nuclei of C. neoformans can undergo nuclear fusion (karyogamy) to become diploid. These diploid nuclei may then undergo meiosis, including recombination, resulting in the formation of haploid basidiospores that are able to disperse.[13] Meiosis may facilitate repair of C. neoformans DNA in response to macrophage challenge.[13][14]
Histoplasma
Histoplasma capsulatum can cause histoplasmosis in humans, dogs and cats. The fungus is most prevalent in the Americas, India and southeastern Asia. It is endemic in certain areas of the United States. Infection is usually due to inhaling contaminated air.
Pneumocystis
Stachybotrys
Stachybotrys chartarum or "black mold" can cause respiratory damage and severe headaches. It frequently occurs in houses and in regions that are chronically damp.[16]
Host defense mechanisms
Endothermy
Mammalian endothermy and homeothermy are potent nonspecific defenses against most fungi.[17] A comparative genomic study found that in opportunistic fungi there are few if any specialised virulence traits consistently linked to opportunistic pathogenicity of fungi in humans apart from the ability to grow at 37 °C.[18]
Barrier tissues
The skin, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, and the genital-urinary tract induced inflammation[vague] are common bodily regions of fungal infection.
Immune response
Studies have shown that hosts with higher levels of immune response cells such as monocytes/macrophages, dendritic cells, and invariant natural killer (iNK) T-cells exhibited greater control of fungal growth and protection against systemic infection. Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play an important role in inducing an immune response by recognizing specific fungal pathogens and initiating an immune response. In the case of mucosal candidiasis, the cells that produce cytokine IL-17 are extremely important in maintaining innate immunity.[19]
Link to extremotolerance
A comprehensive comparison of distribution of
See also
- List of human diseases associated with infectious pathogens
- Microbiology
- Microsporidia
- Mycology
- Plant pathology
- Plague Inc.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-904455-32-5.
- PMID 28741610.
- ^ a b Geddes, Linda (10 February 2023). "'A growing threat to human health': we are ill-equipped for the dangers of fungal infections". The Guardian.
- ^ ISBN 978-92-4-006025-8.
- ISBN 0-7131-2795-3.
- PMID 25183855.
- S2CID 795450.
- PMID 26210747.
- ^ Beneke, E. S. (1966). Medical Mycology: Laboratory Manual (2nd ed.). Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publishing Company. p. 161.
- S2CID 4371721.
- ^ PMID 16087747.
- PMID 2050398.
- ^ S2CID 52857557.
- PMID 29111273.
- ISBN 978-0-8385-8529-0.
- PMID 20212975.
- PMID 19827944.
- ^ ISSN 1878-9129.
- PMID 25384766.
Further reading
- Almeida F, Rodrigues ML, Coelho C (2019). "The Still Underestimated Problem of Fungal Diseases Worldwide". Front Microbiol. 10: 214. PMID 30809213.