Global famine WARNING: BILLIONS could die as crop fungus threatens worldwide starvation
A WORLDWIDE famine threatens to wipe out billions of people worldwide as crop funguses become more resistant to treatment.
By Dan O’Donoghue
DailyStar.co.uk
20th May 2018
Like the increasing number of bacteria that are antibiotic resistant, fungal infections in crops are on a similar path.
If funguses were to become immune, scientists predict it would cause widespread crop failures and potentially see billions die of starvation.
Funguses could also pose a “serious and immediate” threat to human health directly.
Like the increasing number of bacteria that are antibiotic resistant, fungal infections in crops are on a similar path.
If funguses were to become immune, scientists predict it would cause widespread crop failures and potentially see billions die of starvation.
Funguses could also pose a “serious and immediate” threat to human health directly.
The number of human deaths from fungal diseases is estimated to now exceed those from malaria and breast cancer, and is comparable to numbers of those caused by tuberculosis and HIV.
Professor Matthew Fisher, who led a study into the growing levels of resistance to antifungal treatments, said: “The threat of antimicrobial resistance is well established in bacteria, but has largely been neglected in fungi.
“The scale of the problem has been, until now, under-recognised and under-appreciated, but the threat to human health and the food chain are serious and immediate.
“Alongside drug discovery and new technology to tackle fungal pathogens, we urgently need better stewardship of existing antifungals to ensure they are used correctly and that they remain effective.
“Fungi are a growing threat to human and crop health as new species and variants spread around the world, so it is essential that we have means to combat them.”
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