Shah Krish, Deshpande Mukund, Shah P
Biological Sciences Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose, CA, United States.
R&D Center, Greenvention Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Pune, India.
Front Fungal Biol. 2024 Feb 23;5:1339911. doi: 10.3389/ffunb.2024.1339911. eCollection 2024.
Historically, fungi were mainly identified as plant and insect pathogens since they grow at 28°C. At the same time, bacteria are known to be the most common human pathogens as they are compatible with the host body temperature of 37°C. Because of immunocompromised hosts, cancer therapy, and malnutrition, fungi are rapidly gaining attention as human pathogens. Over 150 million people have severe fungal infections, which lead to approximately more than one million deaths per year. Moreover, diseases like cancer involving long-term therapy and prophylactic use of antifungal drugs in high-risk patients have increased the emergence of drug-resistant fungi, including highly virulent strains such as . This clinical spectrum of fungal diseases ranges from superficial mucocutaneous lesions to more severe and life-threatening infections. This review article summarizes the effect of hospital environments, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, on fungal infections and emerging pathogens. The review also provides insights into the various antifungal drugs and their existing challenges, thereby driving the need to search for novel antifungal agents.
从历史上看，真菌主要被鉴定为植物和昆虫病原体，因为它们在28°C下生长。与此同时，已知细菌是最常见的人类病原体，因为它们与宿主37°C的体温相适应。由于免疫功能低下的宿主、癌症治疗和营养不良，真菌作为人类病原体正迅速受到关注。超过1.5亿人患有严重的真菌感染，每年导致约100多万人死亡。此外，像癌症这样涉及长期治疗以及在高危患者中预防性使用抗真菌药物的疾病，增加了耐药真菌的出现，包括高毒力菌株，如 。真菌疾病的临床范围从浅表黏膜皮肤病变到更严重和危及生命的感染。这篇综述文章总结了医院环境，特别是在新冠疫情期间，对真菌感染和新出现病原体的影响。该综述还深入探讨了各种抗真菌药物及其现存挑战，从而凸显了寻找新型抗真菌药物的必要性。
