India

Deadly Fungal Infections May Increase With Global Warming

The fungus, a type of yeast called Candida auris, was discovered just 10 years ago in a Japanese patient with an ear infection

Scientists have a new theory about the origins of a dangerous, drug-resistant fungus that can strike the sickest patients in hospitals and other facilities that provide long-term care: global warming.

The proposal, from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was published Tuesday in the journal mBio, NBC News reported.

The fungus, a type of yeast called Candida auris, was discovered just 10 years ago in a Japanese patient with an ear infection. ("Auris" is Latin for "ear.") Since then, it has been diagnosed in patients around the world.

But C. auris didn't spread like a virus would, radiating out from one location. Instead, it popped up simultaneously in different parts of the world, including India, South Africa and South America.

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