Expect More Fungal Infections As Their Geographic Ranges Expand. Histoplasmosis, Climate Change

[appalachiablue]

- 'Expect more fungal infections as their geographic ranges expand, experts warn,' NBC News, Nov .21, 2022. - Ed. Many fungal infections are found outside areas where the pathogens are thought to be endemic, a new paper says. Climate change may be to blame.

Fungal infections are more widespread than doctors or patients realize, research suggests. And they’re expected to grow all the more so in the coming years.

“We’re definitely seeing disease in locations that we previously have not,” said Dr. George Thompson, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Calif., Davis. “And that’s concerning, because if we’re recognizing those locations, where are the places it’s occurring that just have not been recognized quite yet?” He co-authored an article published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, which suggests that more than 10% of fungal infections are diagnosed outside regions where the pathogens are known to be endemic.

Plus, the paper says, misdiagnoses & a lack of data make it difficult to know how prevalent cases really are. That’s becoming a more pressing problem, since research shows that climate change is making these infections more diffuse. For example, coccidioides, the fungus that causes Valley fever, thrives in desert climates, so increased heat & drought have created more hospitable areas for it to grow. The fungus histoplasma, which can cause an illness marked by fever, cough & fatigue, tends to survive longer in high humidity — a condition that’s also becoming more common as temperatures rise. Histoplasma is found in soil that contains large amounts of bird & bat droppings, and climate change is altering the migration patterns of some of those species.

People generally get fungal infections after breathing in spores. Often, the immune system fights these invaders off, or infections result in mild flu-like symptoms that resolve on their own. But some people — usually those with weakened immune systems — can develop life-threatening illnesses such as pneumonia or meningitis. “The great majority of people who get Valley fever will tell you they got a cough that lasts a few weeks & it goes away,” said Dr. Arturo Casadevall, a microbiologist & immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine. “But when people are immunosuppressed or when they just have bad luck because they got a very large dose, these diseases can disseminate, or get outside the lung.”

Typically, different fungal infections are associated with specific regions: Valley fever is most common in the Southwest, for example, whereas histoplasmosis is mostly identified in central & eastern states. But the coccidioides fungus was found in Washington soil in 2014. Thompson’s paper came just weeks after another study revealed high rates of fungal disease diagnoses far outside their traditionally understood geographies. The researchers found that 94% of U.S. states had at least one county with a significant number of histoplasmosis cases, and 69% had at least one county with a significant number of Valley fever cases... https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna58258

[bucolic_frolic]

1. The ability of your average doctor to diagnose fungal infections is very low

They filter the symptoms through everything else, and after 5 rounds of antibiotics fail, giving the fungus room to run, then they decide there might be something else going on so they consider fungal infections. If it were me I'd avoid the doctor and see what develops on my own. But we're taught to run to the doctor at every little sniffle and cough.

[Tetrachloride]

2. I had an acquaintance who was part of national news

because someone died of a rare infection.

The medical people had only read of the disease, never witnessed it.

(actually i know of another case which , until recently was unheard of.)

[appalachiablue]

9. I can believe rarer conditions slip past medical people too often. Some are serious, See #7...

Because a doctor dismissed a symptom I mentioned, I ended up in the ER for 9 hrs, lost large amts of blood and almost died.

[3auld6phart]

3. Not to make

Light of this. Not trying to be an ass. My wife runs to Google for advice. Google has lots of answers for sure.on just about anything, outside of gross anatomy lessons and that is coming soon. I would imagine.. it is a serious matter for sure.

[wnylib]

8. It is serious for me. I am allergic to fungi.

Therefore, I cannot eat mushrooms. There are some vaccines that I can't have because they have a yeast base. I am able to tolerate breads and most pastries made with yeast which I think is due to the yeast being diluted with all the other ingredients.

There is a mold with several syllables in its name (which I can't remember or pronounce) that is present in the air when it rains and the temperature is around 35 F to 45 F that I am very allergic to. Musty leaves in autumn, too.

So I am not thrilled to learn that more fungi are expected.

[appalachiablue]

11. Thanks for posting, I hear you. These infections & allergies can get serious. #7

[appalachiablue]

7. Hopefully Dr's will pay more attention with this news. Ocular/Visual Hisoplasmosis

can occur when infection moves from the lungs to the eyes, particularly in people with HIV/AIDS and weakened immune systems. When I worked with Low Vision services I saw NIH patients with Ocular Histplasmosis and many other eye conditions.
------------
https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/ocular-histoplasmosis-syndrome-ohs#:~:text=Ocular%20histoplasmosis%20syndrome%20(OHS)%20is,eyes%2C%20leading%20to%20vision%20loss.

- NIH. At a glance: *OCULAR HISTOPLASMOSIS SYNDROME (OHS)* Symptoms: Blurry vision, blind spots. Diagnosis: Dilated eye exam, fluorescein angiography. Treatment: Injections, laser surgery. What is OHS? Ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (OHS) is an eye condition that can develop in people who have a lung infection called histoplasmosis. If you have histoplasmosis, the infection can move from the lungs into the eyes, leading to vision loss.

Many people who have histoplasmosis don’t know it. If you’ve lived in places where histoplasmosis is common, like near the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys, talk to your eye doctor about getting checked for OHS. What are the symptoms of OHS? OHS usually doesn’t cause any symptoms in the early stages. But over time, you may notice: Straight lines looking crooked or wavy. Blind spots in your vision.
- What causes OHS? Histoplasmosis — the lung infection that causes OHS — happens when people breathe in spores from a fungus called Histoplasma capsulatum. This fungus is often found in soil that has bird or bat droppings (poop) in it. Spores from the fungus can go into the air when someone moves the soil around, like while sweeping a chicken coop or plowing a field.

Experts think that people get OHS when spores spread from the lungs to the eye, and can lead to scars in the back of the eye. These scars are usually harmless, but sometimes they cause abnormal blood vessels to grow in the eye and lead to vision loss. - Am I at risk for OHS? Anyone can get histoplasmosis — and OHS — if they’ve been to an area where histoplasma fungus lives.
- Histoplasma is particularly common in central and eastern parts of the United States, like near the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys. In fact, many people who live in these areas have histoplasmosis and don’t know it.

Certain groups are at higher risk of having histoplasmosis turn into OHS, including: People with weakened immune systems — for example, people with HIV/AIDS or people taking certain medicines. Babies. Adults age 55 and older. OHS isn’t contagious — if you have OHS, you can’t spread it to others. - How will my eye doctor check for OHS? To find out if you have OHS, eye doctors will do a dilated eye exam to look for 2 things: Scars in the back of the eye. Swelling in the retina (light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of the eye).
Learn more about what to expect during a dilated eye exam. If they find fluid, blood, or abnormal blood vessels during the dilated eye exam, your eye doctor may do an optical coherence tomography (OCT) test to look for swelling and blood vessels that are not normal. They may also do a test called fluorescein angiography. This test lets the doctor see pictures of the blood vessels in your retina.

What’s the treatment for OHS?... - Read More at the Link above.

[Orrex]

4. The last thing we need is more fungus among us

[Martin68]

5. I lived in the tropics for many years. Yes, fungus thrives there. But it is probably the least

of your problems. Malaria and other tropical diseases are far more lethal.

[DFW]

6. Fungal infections suck royally, and are not to be underestimated.

They come in many forms, and can be very persistent, especially if not properly diagnosed and treated early.

[appalachiablue]

13. +1 Definitely, not funny. See #7.

[SoBlueInFL]

10. My father caught a fungal infection in the Philippines during WWII and it wasn't correctly r/o

diagnosed until the early 1960s. A doctor friend from California who had more experience with tropical diseases due to work he did in Central America was able to diagnose his strange symptoms that came and went.

[appalachiablue]

14. Too bad & I can believe diagnosis took that at long. Thanks for sharing. #7.

[calimary]

12. Uh-oh.... Not good.

[Rural_Progressive]

15. Good time to try and limit your sugar intake

and avoid processed foods when possible (lots of sugar even where you wouldn't think so). Simple sugars are pretty much super fuels for fungi.