A deadly, drug-resistant fungus is spreading its roots around the world. This month’s research found that the public health threat of Candida auris steadily increased over time.

The researchers reviewed the scientific literature on C. earwhich was discovered only in 2009. Since then, outbreaks of the fungus have been reported around the world, including in the US The infection is often mistaken for other germs and is difficult to treat with current drugs, the researchers added, which further increases its risk.

“Taken together, these data highlight the need to develop novel antifungal agents with broad-spectrum activity against human fungal pathogens, to improve diagnostic tests, and to develop immune- and vaccine-based adjunct modalities for the treatment of high-risk patients,” the authors wrote in their paper, PUBLISHED in the journal Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews.

The increase in fungal threats

Fungal infections have become a growing threat to humanity. A study last year, for example, estimated those fungi play a role in killing nearly 4 million people each year, nearly double the amount estimated a decade ago. but C. ear—first discovered inside a person’s ear by Japanese doctors in 2009—may be one of the scarier fungi around.

C. ear can colonize our skin without any problem. But sometimes, especially in people with weakened immune systems, it causes a severe, widespread infection that quickly becomes life-threatening. About one-third of people who are hospitalized with C. ear die from it, research has foundwhile the mortality rate of bloodstream infections reaches almost 50%.

A big reason why C. ear that is very dangerous, compared to other causes of disease Candida species, it is remarkably adept at resisting most of the common drugs used to treat fungal infections. There are even recorded cases of pan-resistant C. ear: that’s hard OPPOSITION all four major classes of antifungals. To make matters worse, routine tests often go unrecognized C. ear like everyone else Candida species, which may lead to delayed or incorrect treatment.

C. ear is still a relatively rare source of fungal disease, but its global burden is clearly increasing over time, the study’s researchers say. It has now been documented in over 50 countries. In the US, C. ear infections in hospitals and other health care settings reported in at least 39 states, with more than 4,500 cases in 2023 (the last year with available data).

On a more frightening level, C. ear could be one of the first emerging diseases directly caused by climate change, researchers say. Evidence suggests that the fungus only began to make people sick more often after it adapted to warmer temperatures—the same kind of temperature found in our bodies.

All hope is not lost

Although the outlook seems bleak, there are reasons for optimism.

The researchers point out that scientists are working on new antifungals, and three promising drugs are still far from being developed. In 2023, the FDA approved Rezafungin for invasive Candida infections. There have also been some advances in vaccines, some of which can provide protection against a wide variety of fungal pathogens.

Researchers are not just highlighting what we know so far C. ear; they hope to make discoveries that will help us combat these dangerous germs.

“My laboratory investigates how fungal pathogens interact with the host to cause infection, with the goal of identifying the molecular mechanisms that enable these organisms to cause disease,” study author Neeraj Chauhan, a professor at the Center for Discovery and Innovation at Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey, told Gizmodo. “The long-term goal of the research is to guide the development of new strategies for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of drug-resistant fungal infections.”

With any luck, scientists like Chauhan will find weaknesses in the C. ear before we finished reenacting fungal nightmare scenarios like The Last of Us.