Dr. Manuel Thomas*

Research Consultant, UniBiosys Biotech Research Labs, Near CUSAT Metro station, Kochi, Kerala, India

*Corresponding Author: Dr. Manuel Thomas, Research Consultant, UniBiosys Biotech Research Labs, Near CUSAT Metro station, Kochi, Kerala, India.

Received: June 18, 2021; Published: July 01, 2021

The past few decades has witnessed medical, veterinary and ecological excrescence of fungal diseases with a dramatic increase coupled with a myriad of pathognomonic manifestations in both animals and humans. To worsen the situation, climate change induced/related emergence of fungal infections is also evident irrespective of geographical region with new host spectrum/species. The emergence of Chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis among amphibian population is the classic example in this regard which contributes extinctions of several frog species [1]. Coral reef depletion due to Aspergillus sydowii [2], mass mortalities of turtle by Fusarium solani [3] and white nose syndrome due to Pseudogymnoascus (Geomyces) destructans [4] in bats are other major emerging fungal diseases worldwide in animals with crippling impacts. In humans, rise of immunocompromised people opens new avenues for fungal diseases which are further complicated by diabetes and currently the COVID 19 complications. According to the Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections (GAFFI), over 300 million people of all ages suffer from serious fungal diseases every year, resulting in over 13,50,000 deaths globally [5].

References

1. Kriger K and Hero J. “Chytridiomycosis, Amphibian Extinctions, and Lessons for the Prevention of Future Panzootics”. Eco Health 6 (2009): 6-10.
2. Ein-Gil N., et al. “Presence of Aspergillus sydowii, a pathogen of gorgonian sea fans in the marine sponge Spongia obscura”. International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal 3 (2009): 752-755.
3. Sarmiento RJ., et al. “Fusarium solani is responsible for mass mortalities in nests of loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, in Boavista, Cape Verde”. FEMS Microbiology Letters 312 (2010): 192-200.
4. Gargas A., et al. “Geomyces destructans nov. associated with bat white-nose syndrome”. Mycotaxon 108 (2009): 147-154.
5. “Fungal disease frequency” (2021).
6. Lima CMAO. “Information about the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19)”. Radiologia Brasileira 2 (2021): V-VI.
7. Gandhi RT., et al. “Mild or moderate Covid-19”. The New England Journal of Medicine18 (2020): 1757-1766.

Citation

Citation: Dr. Manuel Thomas. “Fungal Infections in Animals and Humans: A Tumultuous Public Health Challenge". Acta Scientific Veterinary Sciences 3.8 (2021): 01.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Dr. Manuel Thomas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.