United States: Aspergillus fumigatus, a toxic fungus that has the capacity of decaying human flesh and inducing life-threatening infections, is rapidly spreading in the United States and, according to experts, is likely to multiply with the increasing temperature.
More about the news
This flying mold sheds microscopic spores with every gust of air, and this is quite hard to escape. It can cause severe health problems, particularly for individuals with impaired immune systems.
This is the organism that causes such a condition as aspergillosis when the spores of the organism get inhaled.
The majority of individuals with a healthy immune system slay the fungus with no complications, but since children with unaffected immune systems, asthmatic individuals, HIV patients, and individuals with cancer or underlying conditions have impaired immune systems, they are susceptible, as financialexpress.com reported.
Deadly drug-resistant fungus spreading fast across US, WHO raises alarm https://t.co/4zm2IiPZug
— Financial Express (@FinancialXpress) June 17, 2025
In others, the infection may result in failure of organs or death. Aspergillosis has some forms.
Invasive aspergillosis is also among the more troubling; it is a rather uncommon yet frequently fatal disease that can infect not only the lungs but also the brain, the heart, or the kidneys.
The other is chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, which causes persistent and offensive damage to the lungs and affects 400,000 individuals in the world.
The medical statistics are poor in terms of survival rates. One-year survival among patients undergoing organ transplants after they develop invasive aspergillosis is only 59 percent.
The figure decreases to a mere 25 percent among patients of stem cell transplantation.
Where is fungus spreading in the US?
According to scientists, the fungus spreads especially rapidly in areas of the US that are warm and humid, like Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and California, as financialexpress.com reported.
Even heavily populated cities such as New York, Houston, and Los Angeles have been exposed to this risk through aging infrastructure and higher risks of exposure to mold because of living in old buildings.
Amidst its increased influence, aspergillosis is not a reportable disease in the US, and hence, there is no specific mechanism that keeps track of the number of individuals becoming infected by and dying of the disease.
This dearth prevents health authorities from comprehending the veritable magnitude of the menace.