When a person receives treatment for cancer, your immune system is compromised and as a result your body is less able to defend itself against infection.
This leaves them exposed to infections that in a healthy individual would be merely serious but in the immunocompromised. they become deadly.
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Doctors are now warning the NHS and other health systems that fungal infections are taken more seriously.
There is more of 150 million cases of serious fungal infections worldwide with more than one and a half million deaths.
Despite the large number, the threat it poses to civilians and patients was only recognized in 2021, when a consortium of 29 countries was created to combat the various types of antimicrobial resistance.
The co-director of University of Exeter Medical Research Council Center for Medical MycologyProfessor Adilia Warris told Mirror.co.uk: «Yeast infections They are very serious but I think one of the reasons they’re not on people’s minds is that they often come as a complication on top of another disease.
«Everyone knows how horrible cancer is, but what people often don’t realize is that cancer patients are also at very high risk of developing fungal infections and are a major factor in many cancer deaths.» .
In addition to cancer, fungal infections also affect those with other conditions, such as COVID-19.
A recent study found that about one in six people admitted to intensive care with COVID-19 also have invasive fungal infections such as Staphylococcus, or Staph for short.
However, there are a variety of fungal infections other than Staph that even the strongest immune systems can find ways to avoid.
These fungi can cause conditions such as thrush and other more serious conditions that affect the heart, brain, blood, and other internal organs.
An example of this type of fungi is candida.
Professor Warris describes how Candida affects the immunocompromised body: “It releases tiny spores into the air we breathe.
«If the lung is already damaged, someone is already sick, or the immune system is too weak, these spores can grow in a kind of filament.»
As a result of this filament, patients may develop inflammation and pneumonia.
Yeast infections pose a threat to the thousands of cancer patients in the UK, the growing awareness of this comes at a time when the NHS is dealing with more cancer patients than ever before.
Recent data has revealed a record number of patients being referred for cancer treatment.
In England alone, 2.7 million people were referred for cancer screening last year.
Although this sounds disconcerting, the rise has not been unexpected after a drop during national lockdowns.
However, doctors have been surprised by the number of new patients being referred.