Fungi in a One Health Perspective

Abstract

Fungi constitute a diverse group with highly positive and negative impacts in different environments, having several natural roles and beneficial applications in human life, but also causing several concerns. Fungi can affect human health directly, but also indirectly by being detrimental for animal and plant health, influencing food safety and security. Climate changes are also affecting fungal distribution, prevalence, and their impact on different settings. Searching for sustainable solutions to deal with these issues is challenging due to the complex interactions among fungi and agricultural and forestry plants, animal production, environment, and human and animal health. In this way, the “One Health” approach may be useful to obtain some answers since it recognizes that human health is closely connected to animal and plant health, as well as to the shared environment. This review aims to explore and correlate each of those factors influencing human health in this “One Health” perspective. Thus, the impact of fungi on plants, human, and animal health, and the role of the environment as an influencing factor on these elements are discussed.

Fungal diversity in the soil Mycobiome: Implications for ONE health

“…Fungal infections in animals can also arise from mycotoxin contamination in feed, with secondary fungal metabolites inducing both immediate and chronic health problems, including stunted growth in juveniles. The situation could worsen with climate change, which may enhance conditions for mycotoxin-producing fungi [ 64 ]. Among the significant fungal threats to animals, especially birds, is aspergillosis.…”

“…In mammals like horses and cows, A. fumigatus leads to various conditions, including mycosis, pneumonia, and gastroenteritis. Immunocompromised cats and dogs are also vulnerable to aspergillosis, which can result in a range of infections [ 64 ].…”

“…Other opportunistic fungal pathogens, like Mucorales, are known to infect cattle, horses, birds, cats, and dogs, leading to conditions such as ruminitis and lymphadenitis in cattle, respiratory and gastrointestinal issues in horses and birds, and enteritis or systemic mucormycosis in cats and dogs [ 64 ]. Wild species are not exempt, with reports of infections in dolphins, bison, and seals.…”

Identificación de agentes micóticos (Aspergillus spp. y Candida spp.) en equipos respiratorios de uso veterinario

“…(Peña-Castillo et al, 2021). Es importante destacar que los agentes etiológicos hallados en esta investigación tienen el potencial de ser zoonóticos, lo que implica un riesgo palpable de transmisión a los seres humanos (Simões et al, 2023). Según De La Fuente et al (2021, en un análisis llevado a cabo en el Instituto Nacional del Tórax con pacientes adultos que estaban ingresados en el hospital, se observó que, de los 69 casos estudiados, la tasa de mortalidad alcanzó el 13%, el 71% de las muertes estuvo relacionado con la presencia de Aspergillus spp., mientras que el 26% fue atribuido a infecciones de Candida spp., y solo un 3% se debió a otros tipos de microorganismos fúngicos.…”

Stephanoascus ciferrii Complex: The Current State of Infections and Drug Resistance in Humans

“…In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of fungal infections in humans, caused by a wider variety of species, including many environmental fungi that have not been previously associated with human infections. This increase is related to several factors, including iatrogenic immunosuppression [1]; new biological drugs used in the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, which target physiological axes involved in host defence mechanisms against fungi [2]; improvement in laboratory diagnostic procedures used for fungal identification [3]; and environmental changes related to rising temperatures that can affect the niche of fungi [4][5][6]. Over the past five years, the LIFE portal has enabled the assessment of the global burden of severe fungal infections for more than 5.7 billion individuals, representing over 80% of the global population [7].…”