From fungi to fever: Candida auris and climate change

As the world heats up, new infectious pathogens might be coming out of hiding.

Candida auris is a dangerous fungi that scientists believe may be the first such pathogen to emerge as the result of a warming planet. It never even existed in humans until 2009, so why is it causing trouble now? The prevailing theory won't surprise you: it's climate change. For most of human and mammal history, we've enjoyed natural protection from fungal pathogens because our body temperatures are too high for most of them to tolerate. But now, with global temperatures slowly and steadily rising over time, it may be allowing fungi to adapt, develop a tolerance, and flourish in humans at temperatures they had never been able to before.

Since 2017, the U.S. has seen a 1200% increase in cases, with over 2,300 last year alone. Initially identified in India, Venezuela, and South Africa, it is no longer a fungal infection that occurs while traveling – it's now a homegrown pathogen affecting New York, California, and Nevada, in particular.

With a truly worrying mortality rate estimated at least 30%, Candida auris causes serious infections in wounds, the bloodstream, and the respiratory system. It appears to be very resistant to normal fungal infection treatments, and it spreads quickly in hospital or long-term care settings, especially amongst those already seriously ill or immunocompromised.

There's so much scientists just don't know yet about this type of fungus, but what might be having an impact on its prevalence and spread are things we've known for a while now: creeping into animal habitats, greater contact with wildlife, and perhaps the use of fungi in agriculture could all be contributing factors.

Another potentially serious issue compounding the problem is that since these kinds of infections have not been a big problem in the past, we've spent considerably less time studying them. Scientists and doctors are working hard to catch up, but so far, they're bogged down with everything from imperfect diagnostic testing to literally running out of drugs that are effective against it.

The more we let global temperatures rise, put serious climate change legislation on the back burner, and let environmental enforcement slide, the more likely we are to see emerging infectious diseases and pathogens that can inflict harm on us and our communities.

The threat of Candida auris is one of many reasons we must elect leaders serious about addressing the climate crisis.

Our movement is strong; I know we will be part of the solution together.

More soon,

Rob