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Global deaths from fungal infections doubled in a decade: Lancet Study

The study revealed that the annual total of deaths from fungal disease worldwide has risen to 3.75 million, which is double than the previous estimates.

• By Pooja Chaturvedi Sah
• New Delhi
• Jan 17, 2024

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A recent study, published by David W. Denning, Principal Investigator of Manchester Fungal Infection Group at the University of Manchester, estimates that the fungal infections have doubled globally in a decade. 

The study revealed that the annual total of deaths from fungal disease worldwide has risen to 3.75 million, which is double than the previous estimates.

Published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the study calculated an annual total of about 6.55 million acute cases using data from over 80 countries, including India. As compared to deaths from other single pathogens, the updated mortality figures reflect a grim picture, killing six times more people than malaria, and almost three times as many than tuberculosis.

Around 6.8% of the deaths globally linked to fungal disease were likely to have been directly caused by it. Around 1.2 million deaths had other underlying diseases, with fungal disease contributing, the study said. Over 300 professionals collaborated from across the world to contribute and published estimates for their country and individual fungal diseases.

Although fungal disease diagnostics have improved in the last ten to 15 years, the researchers highlighted that both access to and actual usage of the related tests is limited across the globe, and not just in low-income countries. The study stressed that just like antibiotic resistance, antifungal resistance is a growing problem too.

They mentioned that some of the most common types of fungus remain unnoticed, which leads to an increased number of global deaths. The other reasons being slow or absent diagnostic testing and a lack of effective antifungal drugs.

"Improved clinical awareness, appropriate sampling, and timely laboratory diagnostic testing, combined with imaging, could definitively reduce the substantial number of mostly avoidable premature deaths from life-threatening fungal disease," said David Denning, author of the study.

The report mentions examples such as Candida infections which affect more than 1.5 million people worldwide, causing nearly 1 million deaths each year. Although the fungus is normally in our gut, it can move into our bloodstream when we are sick. The study says that improved diagnostic tests are needed as the current blood culture tests can only detect 40% of the Candida infections. In another example, the report reveals that about 50% of the approximately 6,00,000 deaths from Aids are attributable to fungal infections. In fact, there is a strong association between fungal allergies and asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Prof David W Denning believes that fungal diseases are here to stay and that we are surrounded by them as they live in our guts and on our skin. 

"There are no vaccines for fungi. Severe fungal disease strikes when people are already ill, with only a few exceptions in healthy people and in those living or working in healthy homes or work environments. That is why accurate and timely diagnosis is desperately needed, and why we need to take fungi very seriously,” adds Prof Denning.