Overused fungicides give rise to deadly, resistant fungus threatening humans and crops
by: Julie Wilson
NaturalNews.com
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Nature always finds a way. Despite the advanced technology that humans possess, nature always seems to be one step ahead. This is particularly true for drug-resistant fungi, a phenomenon threatening enough to demand further research.
Four years ago, Dutch researchers were the first to link the agricultural use of fungicides to resistant fungi, particularly Aspergillus fumigatus, a common fungus that’s seemingly developed a resistance to Western medicine.
Publishing in the December 2009 issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, scientists suggested that the massive use of fungicides on European orchards, vineyards and grain fields contributed to the resistance against drugs used to treat people with a life-threatening infection of A. fumigatus.
A. fumigatus typically affects those with weakened immune systems, causing wheezing in asthmatics and deadly lung infections. The fungus is commonly found in nature feeding on dead and decaying organic matter. It reproduces by spreading spores through the air, which are sometimes inhaled by humans.
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