The solution to “The Last of Us”: develop a highly effective vaccine against fungi

The vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Georgia, USA, is known as NXT-2. Its preparation makes it possible to directly attack an enzyme shared by the three strains of fungus that do the most damage. According to the analysis institute Farestaie”More than 300 million people suffer from serious fungal diseases and more than 1.6 million die each year in the worlddue to causes directly related to fungal diseases”.

The NXT-2 malfunctions in the body tried that can fight infections caused by three species of fungi: Aspergillus, Candida and Pneumocystis. The vaccine was already 100% effective in the prevention of serious infections in immunocompromised monkeys and mice exposed to lethal amounts of fungi. As a consequence of these results, the researchers say that plans for a human trial are already underway.

Symptoms of fungal infections

The symptoms of fungal diseases often include shortness of breath, fatigue, headaches, night sweats, and muscle achesamong others.

Common fungal infections that people face include athlete’s foota scaly rash that can be itchy or stinging, thrush, where white lesions develop on the tongue or inside of the cheek, and even Dandruffwhich can be triggered by fungal infections among other causes.

The Last of Us: from the screen to reality

the Serie HBO’s “The Last of Us”, based on the hit video game of the same name, takes place after the start of the pandemic. with most of the dead and zombified populationthe remaining humans resort to brutal survival tactics.

The population is transformed into a zombie as a consequence of a disease caused by a fungus (Ophiocordyceps) that turns its victims. The series demonstrates this through a slow process that little by little devours its victim from the inside, extracting every last nutrient and evaporating consciousness, until leaving him a zombie.

The World Health Organization note that the fungal infections are becoming a “big menace “for public health and are more common worldwide as the changing weather it makes environments more suitable for them.

infectious growth

“There is a significant unmet clinical need for this type of prevention and treatment, especially among immunocompromised individuals,” Dr. Karen Norris, a professor of veterinary medicine at UGA and lead scientist behind the vaccine, told daily mail.

The professional added that “the population of patients at risk of invasive fungal infections has reached significantly in recent years.” The fungal infections occur when a person inhales or comes into contact with the spores.

In general, healthy people are good at fighting yeast infections. But those who have underlying conditions like HIV, cancer, or diabetes, or have weakened immune systems, are at greater risk of serious illness and death.

Climate crisis and other consequence

Warmer and more humid weather, a product of climate change, increased the spread of infections in immunosuppressed people. is 2021, a black fungus killed thousands of people in Inday, among the victims 85% were also Covid patients.

On the other hand, in the USA the fungal infection called ‘Valley Fiber‘ which kills one in every hundred people it infects. Regarding fungal diseases, Dr. Norris detailed, “it’s an area that has been underdeveloped on the research front for a long time.” And she clarified: “These are very large populations of people who are at risk of invasive fungal infections, and while considerable efforts have been made to develop vaccines, none have yet been approved.”

Effective and no side effect

So far the NXT-2 vaccine was the only injection that effectively prevented severe infection against all three fungi in all animals tested. Also, it didn’t show no side effect significant adverse effect in the 12 animals that obtained it and were not exposed to the deadly disease.

Dr Matthew Fisher, a professor of medicine at Imperial College Longon in the UK who researches fungi, told CNN: “We are always surrounded by fungal spores. We have lived with them since we made beds in the sheet 500,000 years ago, even before we became modern humans.” And he concluded: “We have had to adapt that this exquisite immune system that we have to defend against spores, because many of them are magnificent [peligrosas]”.

Although coccidioidomycosis has not been tested against the NXT-2 vaccine, its spread has caused experts to focus more on developing treatments for these diseases.

NT/ED