Main content

Can we stop killer fungi?

Killer fungi thrive as global temperatures rise and medical advances leave more people vulnerable. Researchers are racing to develop new treatments as resistance grows

Fungal diseases are becoming more common, more dangerous, and more difficult to treat. There’s concern that they may cause the next global pandemic.

Rising global temperatures, better survival rates for vulnerable patients, and increased medical interventions contribute to the rise in fungal infections. Access to effective diagnostics and treatment remains limited, with significant disparities between high and low-income countries.

Treating fungal infections is becoming more challenging as they build resistance
to the drugs used to treat them. New therapies are being developed, including treatments that disrupt fungal DNA replication or interfere with essential proteins, offering some hope for long-term control.

Contributors:
Adilia Warris, Professor in Paediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Exeter, UK

Rita Oladele, Professor of Clinical Microbiology, University of Lagos and Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Arturo Casadevall, Professor and Chair of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, US

Michael Bromley, Professor in Fungal Disease, University of Manchester, UK

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Louise Clarke
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production co-ordinator: Tammy Snow

(Image: Aspergillus fumigatus, seen under an optical microscope. Credit: BSIP/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Available now

23 minutes

Last on

Sunday 11:06GMT

Featured

  • .

Broadcasts

  • Last Thursday 07:06GMT
  • Last Thursday 14:06GMT
  • Last Thursday 17:06GMT
  • Last Thursday 21:06GMT
  • Last Saturday 18:06GMT
  • Sunday 00:06GMT
  • Sunday 11:06GMT

Podcast