Killer fungus causes 1.7 million deaths annually as one deadly strain spreads to Europe

Climate change is setting the stage for a lethal fungus to rapidly sweep across Europe, putting millions in jeopardy of contracting the dangerous infection. The disease known as Aspergillosis, which can drastically affect the respiratory system and lead to critical breathing problems, is on the threshold of affecting multiple European nations this year, due to soaring global temperatures heightening the vulnerability of northern countries in Europe.

While the condition is often manageable with drugs, individuals with existing health issues such as asthma or cystic fibrosis face a potentially fatal threat.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Norman van Rhijn, a Wellcome Trust research fellow at Manchester University and co-author of the study on the perilous fungus, warned: "We're talking about hundreds of thousands of lives, and continental shifts in species distributions."

He ominously predicted that within half a century, changes in habitat could significantly alter what diseases people contract: "In 50 years, where things grow and what you get infected by is going to be completely different."

Aspergillosis symptoms include breathlessness, coughing potentially with blood or mucus, wheezing, fever, unintended weight loss, and fatigue. Those with existing lung conditions may experience worsening symptoms, signalling it's time to consult a GP, reports the Mirror.

Fungal infections are on the rise globally, with over 150 million severe cases and 1.7 million deaths each year, as treatments for yeast and mould infections grow less effective.

Professor Adilia Warris, a leading expert on fungal infections and co-director of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at Exeter University, commented: "Fungal infections are very serious, but I think one of the reasons they are not at the forefront of people's minds is that they often come as a complication on top of another disease."

She added: "Everyone knows how horrible cancer is, but what people often don't realise is that cancer patients are also at very high risk of developing fungal infections and they are a significant factor in many cancer deaths."

Explaining the infection process, she said: "It releases tiny spores into the air, which we breathe in. If the lung is already damaged, someone is already ill, or the immune system is too weak, these spores can grow out in a kind of filament. This can cause an infection with inflammation and you get really bad pneumonia."