Category: Fungal Infection
Deadly bat disease spreads across California, raising wildlife concerns
KRCR The fungus responsible for white-nose syndrome, a lethal disease that has decimated bat populations across North America, has been detected in several California counties. White-nose syndrome, caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is particularly deadly to hibernating bats such as the little brown myotis, Yuma myotis and cave myotis. The disease damages bats’ wing membranes […]
Oct 29, 2024
Valley fever is a growing risk in Central California; few visitors ever get a warning
Los Angeles Times Some experts warn that the fungus that causes valley fever is growing increasingly resistant to drugs — a phenomenon they say is due to the spraying of antifungal agents on area crops. In 2001, fewer than 1,500 Californians were diagnosed with valley fever. Last year, that number rose to more than 9,000. […]
Oct 2, 2024
BARDA awards $29 million to Basilea Pharmaceutica for first-in-class anti-fungal treatments
BARDA BARDA awarded an initial $29 million under an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) to Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd. Allschwil, to develop two anti-fungal therapeutics, Fosmanogepix and BAL2062, both with the potential to treat drug-resistant invasive fungal infections. Additional funding could be awarded by BARDA if contract options are exercised. Under the terms of the OTA […]
Sep 25, 2024
Deadly Fungal Infections Causing a ‘Silent Pandemic’, Scientists Warn
Science Alert Fungal infections are also adapting beyond the means of our medicine, causing a “silent pandemic” that needs to be addressed urgently, according to some researchers. “The threat of fungal pathogens and antifungal resistance, even though it is a growing global issue, is being left out of the debate,” explains molecular biologist Norman van Rhijn from […]
Sep 25, 2024
What you need to know about Valley fever after 19 infected at California music festival
ABC News Several people were recently infected with a fungal lung infection at an outdoor California music festival. As of Aug. 21, at least 19 people who attended or worked at the “Lightning in a Bottle” festival in Kern County in late May tested positive for Valley fever, according to the California Department of Public Health. […]
Sep 11, 2024
Drought fueling spread of fungus that’s making people sick across California: Study
The HIll Climate changed-induced drought conditions have been driving the dispersal of a dangerous airborne fungus across California in recent years, a new study has found. Cases of the flu-like disease coccidioidomycosis — also known as “Valley fever” — have risen dramatically over the past two decades, tripling from 2014 to 2018 and again from […]
Sep 3, 2024
Valley Fever in California: Symptoms, Protecting Yourself and Why Cases Are Way Up
KQED Cases of valley fever — a lung infection that can cause severe sickness in some people — are rising across California. And state health officials said they’re seeing an increasing number of cases of the disease reported outside the Central Valley and Central Coast areas where valley fever is traditionally most common — including cases in Bay Area […]
Aug 27, 2024
A ‘Critical Pathogen’: The Rise of Drug-Resistant Fungal Diseases
Johns Hopkins Until recently, most fungal infections did not pose a significant threat to human health. Our advanced immune system and hot body temperature created an inhospitable environment for fungi, which mostly infected hospitalized patients or those taking immunosuppressive medication. But over the past 10 years, the fungus Candida auris has emerged independently on three continents, suggesting […]
Aug 27, 2024
NBC News An outbreak of Valley fever among attendees and workers at an outdoor music festival in California’s Central Valley highlights the fungal infection’s mounting threat. Fourteen people who traveled to attend or work at the Lightning in a Bottle Festival in Bakersfield in May have tested positive for Valley fever and developed symptoms, the California Department […]
Aug 13, 2024
NIH The continuing emergence of invasive fungal pathogens poses an increasing threat to public health. Here, through the China Hospital Invasive Fungal Surveillance Net programme, we identified two independent cases of human infection with a previously undescribed invasive fungal pathogen, Rhodosporidiobolus fluvialis, from a genus in which many species are highly resistant to fluconazole and […]
Aug 7, 2024