Deadly fungus that will ‘eat you from the inside out’ is quickly spreading around the world
By Eric Ralls,
Imagine inhaling hundreds of invisible spores every day. Most float in and out of our airways without leaving a trace. Yet some of those spores belong to molds that don’t respect boundaries.
Many fungus species will infect lungs, spoil crops, and disrupt ecosystems all at the same time. In short, they can wreak massive havoc and leave death in their wake.
Most molds and fungi are helpful, but some fungus and mold will jump from hospital wards to honeybee hives, and the line between helpful recycler and harmful invader grows blurrier each year.
Most of the time, healthy immune systems swat away dangerous spores and fight off infection. Trouble arises when weakened defenses, rising temperatures, and heavy fungicide use tip the scales.
Suddenly, the same fungus that quietly decomposes the fallen leaves in your yard can trigger relentless coughs, damage corn silos, and shrug off medicines that once kept it in check.
Aspergillus fungus easily adapts
After studying fungal threats for years, Dr. Norman van Rhijn and colleagues at The University of Manchester mapped how three notorious Aspergillus species – A. flavus, A. fumigatus, and A. niger – might spread through the end of the century.
They fed climate change scenarios into global models and watched the virtual spores drift.
Aspergillus fungus thrives because its genome bends easily to new pressures. It lives on soil, grains, animal feathers, even coral skeletons. Out in the wild, it recycles nutrients, but on farms and in clinics, the story shifts.
Farmers spray azole fungicides to protect wheat and peanuts; doctors use nearly identical azole drugs to save patients with lung infections.
