Bread, Cheese, and Deadly Infections – Unfriendly and Untreatable Fungi

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Fungi can be our friends. They’re responsible, after all, for some of our favorite foods and drinks, including beer, bread, wine, and cheese. Penicillin, the parent of all antibiotics, comes from the fungal family as well.

But fungi can also cause disease in humans, animals, and plants. In this episode of One World, One Health, Dr. Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo,  a research scientist at the Mycology Reference Laboratory of Spain head of the mold unit, explains how fungal diseases affect people, how they evolve to evade treatment, and what people are doing that helps make these fungal infections even more dangerous.

Climate change and the imprudent use of antifungal treatments on crops are both working to toughen up fungal pathogens, she says. The World Health Organization even released a list of the world's most preoccupying fungal pathogens in 2022.

Listen as Dr. Alastruey-Izquierdo tells us why we need more awareness of fungal infections and what we can do to fight them.