A study suggests that apples may be fueling the superbug crisis by harboring drug-resistant strains of a deadly fungus.
Indian and Canadian academics believe the fungicides used to keep the fruit fresh are to blame.
Experts found candida auris on the surface of 13% of apples analyzed in Delhi. All of them have been stored prior to purchase – none of them are freshly picked.
Candida auris was first discovered in 2009 and has since attacked hundreds in the UK and US.
The team admits that they ‘still don’t really understand’ what is driving the fungus. But they speculate the fungicide ‘accidentally picked up’ resistant fungi and helped it spread.
Indian and US researchers found fungicides used to keep fruit fresh are increasing levels of candida auris (pictured) by improving its survival rate compared to other fungi other yeast
The researchers found it on the surface of 13% of the apples analyzed in the Delhi study
Many cases of C. auris have been reported around the world since the fungus was first discovered in 2009.
The study, published in the journal mBio, screened the surfaces of 84 different fruits for sale in northern India.
This includes 62 apples – 42 were picked at a market in Delhi and 20 came from orchards.
The results showed that candida auris was present on 8 apples – 5 Red Delicious and 3 Royal Galas.
According to researchers from the universities of Delhi and McMaster university, not a single freshly picked apple has mushrooms.
Treating the fruit with a fungicide to increase the shelf life of the fruit seems to kill all types of yeast on the surface of the fruit, with the exception of candida auris.
The authors state that this proposed fungicide could actively help many resistant fungi thrive.
Resistance is caused by pathogens learning to evade the drugs designed to kill them.
Dr Jianping Xu, co-author, said: ‘We still don’t really understand the forces that lead to the simultaneous emergence of many different genetic clusters of candida auris.
‘When we look at human pathogens, we tend to look at what happens right to us.
‘But we have to look at it more broadly. Everything is connected, the whole system. Fruit is just one example. ‘
Candida auris was first described in 2009 after being found in the ear canal of a 70-year-old Japanese woman. Auris is Latin for ear, the name of this mushroom.
In 2011, it was reported as a cause of blood infection in Korea.
The fungus has since been discovered in Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, South Africa and India, as well as Spain, Norway and Germany.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers fungi a ‘serious global health threat’ and one of the five pathogens that pose the greatest danger to humans worldwide.
In the US, there have been 587 reported cases, mostly in New York, New Jersey and Illinois, leading to C. auris being placed on the CDC’s list of ‘urgent threats’.
Based on current information, 30-60% of people infected with C. auris have died, according to the CDC.
But many of these people already have other serious illnesses that also increase their risk of death.
UK health chiefs issued guidance to protect against the fungus in 2017 amid fears it was spreading in hospitals ‘like a bushfire’.
Advice includes telling doctors to isolate any infected patients and increase hygiene measures.
Source: | This article originally belonged to Dailymail.co.uk
