After the Covid, doctors warn of a new type of infection against which humanity will have a hard time fighting. Explanations.
This could be the storyline for the next season of The Last of Us. This is what we think of when doctors talk about a infection caused by a fungus. The warning chills the blood and it is very real. After the Covid-19 pandemic, humanity is about to go to war once again against a microscopic enemy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the alert after two American women were struck down by a highly contagious fungal disease. Patients aged 28 and 47 developed severe antibiotic resistant ringworm with symptoms and risks of fungal infection. The infection is caused by Tinea corporis, a fungus that has spread in Asia over the past 10 years.
Asked by our colleagues from MirrorProfessor David Denning, who specializes in infectious diseases, explains that “THE infections fungal infections are passed from person to person in schools, at home, and through intimate contact.” “This new fungus resistant to terbinafine [un médicament antifongique] is a new species called Trichophyton indotineae, first identified in India” before spread to Canada, Germany and the United States. It was during a trip to Bangladesh that the 47-year-old patient began to suffer from severe rashes. On his return, two four-week drug treatments had reduced the infection by 80%.
Why this new infection is really worrying
“For two decades, we treated these infections with terbinafine orally for three weeks, with great success, until this new fungal species arrived”, David Denning. Its appearance is believed to be related to India’s frequent use of drug treatment in India, “which does not completely cover the infected area or penetrate deep into the skin, allowing resistant variants to escape”. The light could however be at the end of the tunnel: “Itraconazole, 400 mg daily, is usually effective.” In case of infection, tests in a mycology laboratory remain essential to determine the species of the fungus. With skin infections favored by rising temperaturesresistant drugs and too few laboratoriesyou have to protect yourself!