Researchers identify drug-resistant Candida auris as warning sign of emerging fungal threats as global warming drives heat adaptation
By Admin
Scientists have warned that rising global temperatures could increase the risk of deadly fungal infections in humans by enabling more fungi to develop the ability to survive at body temperature, weakening one of humanity's natural defences against infection.
The warning comes amid growing concern over the emergence and spread of Candida auris, a potentially deadly, drug-resistant fungus that can thrive at human body temperature and has demonstrated the ability to survive temperatures as high as 47°C.
The findings, contained in a 2026 research paper by Carla Schuh and Chaitanya Gokhale, titled Candidozyma auris (Candida auris) as a harbinger of novel fungal pathogens, raise concerns that environmental warming could favour fungi capable of overcoming the temperature barrier that has historically limited their ability to infect humans.
The researchers argue that climate change may be creating conditions in which previously harmless environmental fungi could evolve greater heat tolerance and become potential human pathogens.
The concern is particularly significant because the human body, with an average temperature of approximately 37°C, provides a hostile environment for most fungal species.
Although millions of fungi exist in nature, only a relatively small proportion can tolerate the temperature inside the human body and cause disease.
However, scientists fear that rising environmental temperatures could gradually change this biological equation, allowing more fungal species to adapt to conditions previously too hot for them to survive.
Candida auris, first identified in 2009, illustrates the danger. The fungus has emerged as a serious healthcare-associated pathogen, causing severe infections, particularly among hospitalised patients and people with weakened immune systems.
Its ability to survive on surfaces, spread in healthcare facilities and resist multiple antifungal drugs makes it especially difficult to control.
The researchers' warning also comes against the backdrop of the enormous global burden of fungal diseases, which affect millions of people annually. An estimated 6.5 million people worldwide develop serious fungal infections each year.
Beyond environmental warming, the researchers point to another development that deserves attention: changes in human body temperature.
A Stanford University study examining historical records found that average body temperature among American men had declined by approximately 0.59°C since the 19th century, equivalent to about 0.03°C per decade.
The finding has prompted questions about whether changes in human physiology, alongside rising environmental temperatures, could further alter the relationship between humans and fungal pathogens.
However, the research does not establish that declining human body temperature is directly responsible for increasing fungal infections, nor does it prove that climate change caused the emergence of Candida auris.
The broader concern is that environmental conditions may increasingly favour fungi capable of surviving inside the human body.
Scientists are consequently calling for stronger fungal disease surveillance, improved laboratory detection, better infection prevention and control, and accelerated development of new antifungal medicines.
The warning carries particular weight for healthcare systems already battling antimicrobial resistance, as treatment options for serious fungal infections remain limited.
Although the prospect of a fungus-driven pandemic resembling the fictional apocalypse in the television series The Last of Us remains far-fetched, researchers say the real threat should not be dismissed.
Unlike the fictional fungus that controls human behaviour, Candida auris causes real and potentially fatal infections, with resistance to available treatments complicating patient management.
For scientists, the emerging challenge is to understand how climate change could reshape fungal evolution before more environmental species acquire the ability to infect humans.
