BREAKING! U.S. CDC And U.S.NIH Study Shows An Increase Of Americans Dying From Fungal Infections In The Midst Of The SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic!

Startling study findings based on a new research conducted by scientists from the Mycotic Diseases Branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Georgia and the U.S NIH’s National Center for Health Statistics-Maryland are showing that more Americans have died from a variety of fungal infections during the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.


 
The study findings adds weigh to Thailand Medical News’s claims that COVID-19 infections, irrespective of their clinical presentations ie whether asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic or severe, induces immunodeficiency status in all infected and makes them susceptible to opportunistic secondary pathogenic infections and also adds to our hypothesis that the changed immune landscape in billions of humans who have been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is causing other pathogens, be it viruses, bacteria and fungus to evolved and also mutate.
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-italian-study-validates-previous-claims-that-sars-cov-2-infections-causes-immunodeficiency-conditions-worse-than-hiv-infections
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/tmn-s-hypothesis-that-billions-of-post-covid-individuals-having-a-changed-immune-landscape-is-contributing-to-other-pathogens-mutating-needs-urgent-va
 
It has been known that COVID-19-associated fungal infections cause severe illness, but comprehensive data on disease burden are lacking. We analyzed US National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) data to characterize disease burden, temporal trends, and demographic characteristics of persons dying from fungal infections during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The study team utilizing NVSS’s January 2018–December 2021 Multiple Cause of Death Database, examined numbers and age-adjusted rates (per 100,000 population) of fungal deaths by fungal pathogen, COVID-19 association, demographic characteristics, and year.
 
The study findings showed that numbers and age-adjusted rates of fungal deaths increased from 2019 (n = 4,833, rate 1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]    1.2–1.3) to 2021 (n = 7,199, rate: 1.8, 95% CI = 1.8–1.8); of 13,121 fungal deaths during 2020–2021, 2,868 (21.9%) were COVID-19–associated.
 
When compared with non-COVID-19–associated fungal deaths (n = 10,253), COVID-19–associated fungal deaths more frequently involved Candida (n = 776 [27.1%] versus n = 2,432 [23.7%]) and Aspergillus (n = 668 [23.3%] versus n = 1,486 [14.5%]) and less frequently involved other specific fungal pathogens.
 
Interestingly, fungal death rates were generally highest in non-White and non-Asian populations. Death rates from Aspergillus infections were approxi mately two times higher in the Pacific US census division compared with most other divisions.
 
Thailand Medical News believes that genetics and also dietary linked epigenetics could also be playing a role in this.
 
The study findings showed that fungal deaths increased during 2020–2021 compared with previous years, primarily driven by COVID-19–associated fungal deaths, particularly those involving Aspergillus and Candida.
 
The study findings may inform efforts to prevent, identify, and treat severe fungal infections in COVID-19 patients, especially in certain racial/ethnic groups and geographic areas.
 
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Clinical Infectious Diseases. https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciac489/6611491?login=false
 
The study primarily assessed deaths due to fungal infections during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States (US) but there are also other studies that showed similar findings for countries like India, Brazil, South Africa and also Italy.
 
Molds, yeasts, dimorphic fungi, and yeast-like fungi are common fungal pathogens. Clinically, fungal infections result in superficial lesions as well as life-threatening conditions. Severe infections typically affect immunosuppressed individuals like cancer patients, recipients of solid organ or stem cell grafts, users of immunosuppressive medication, etc.
 
Among the most concerning fungus infections affecting humans are:
-Candidiasis.
-Cryptococcosis.
-Aspergillosis.
-Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever)
-Histoplasmosis.
-Blastomycosis.
-Pneumocystis pneumonia.
https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/fungal-disease-specific-research
 
To date, more than 1.015 million Americans have succumbed to COVID-19.
 
It has been found that COVID-19 might elevate the risk for severe fungal infection due to COVID-19-associated immune dysfunction, lung damage, and therapies, impairing the host immune system against pathogenic fungi.
 
Present evidence suggests that severe fungal infection in COVID-19 patients could result in poor clinical outcomes.
 
The study team analyzed data from the US National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) to examine demographic information, fungal disease burden, and temporal trends.
 
The team used provisional mortality data for 2021 and final mortality data for 2018 to 2020 from NVSS. Deaths involving fungal infections were identified and coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10) codes. Deaths involving COVID-19 were similarly coded.
 
The cumulative number, percentage, and age-adjusted rates of fungal deaths from January 2018 to December 2021 were analyzed by the fungal pathogen, year, and COVID-19 association (whether COVID-19 was a contributory factor). The monthly number of fungal deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic was examined by investigating whether COVID-19 contributed to mortality; concurrent monthly COVID-19 deaths were also analyzed.
 
All data on fungal deaths between January 2020 and December 2021 were stratified by the COVID-19 association; the age-adjusted death rates were examined by race/ethnicity, sex, fungal pathogens, and the US census division of residence.

The study findings showed that between 2018 and 2021, 22,700 deaths occurred due to fungal infections/pathogens. The number of fungal deaths per 100,000 people for 2018 and 2019 was similar, with 4746 and 4833 deaths, respectively, and the age-adjusted rate was 1.2 during both years. However, it increased to 5922 in 2020, with a mortality rate of 1.5. Likewise, about 7199 (fungal) deaths were observed in 2021, with a rate of 1.8.


 
Interestingly, COVID-19-associated deaths during 2020 and 2021 accounted for 21.9% of the 13,121 fungal deaths in that period. COVID-19 represented the most common underlying cause of death (90.5%) among the COVID-19-associated fungal deaths, accounting for 0.3% of COVID-19 deaths during 2020-21. Candida and Aspergillus were the common fungal pathogens constituting 24.4% and 16.4% of the total number of fungal deaths for 2020-21.
 
However, the pathogen was unspecified for more than 35% of all fungal deaths in the same period.
 
Significantly, most COVID-19-associated fungal deaths were predominantly due to Candida and Aspergillus infections relative to non-COVID-19-associated fungal deaths.
 
On average, 399 fungal deaths were recorded per month during 2018-19, and 423 fungal deaths occurred during the peak of the first COVID-19 wave (April 2020). Nonetheless, it peaked in January 2021 and October 2021 with 690 and 718 fungal deaths coinciding with the COVID-19 mortality peak(s).
 
It was found that most deaths from fungal infections in 2020-21 were recorded in males (59.7%) and people aged 65 or above. The age-adjusted rates for COVID-19-associated fungal deaths were higher for individuals who were non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) [1.3], Hispanic (0.7), and Black (0.6) than non-Hispanic White (0.2) and non-Hispanic Asian (0.3) populations.
 
Also, for non-COVID-19-associated deaths from fungal infections, the age-adjusted death rates were higher in AI/AN (3), Hispanic (1.9), and non-Hispanic native Hawaiian (NHPI) [2.4] and Black populations than White (1.1) or Asian (1.2) individuals. The crude fungal death rate was higher for people from non-metropolitan areas than metropolitan residents.
 
It was found that the age-adjusted fungal death rates were higher in the Mountain (2.1) and Pacific (2) US census divisions but lower in the New England (1.3) division. Mountain and West South-Central divisions showed higher rates (0.5) of non-COVID-19-associated deaths, while it was lower in New England division (0.2).
 
The study findings showed that more Americans died from fungal infections in 2020-21, an upward trend compared to preceding years. COVID-19-associated fungal deaths drove this increase, highlighting the critical significance of fungal infections in COVID-19 patients. Fungal deaths increased in tandem with COVID-19 peaks in January and October 2021 but not in April 2020.
 
The study findings show that fungal infections pose a substantial burden in the United States.
 
The study findings might help inform efforts to identify, treat, or prevent severe fungal infections in COVID-19 patients, particularly in some ethnic and racial groups and geographic regions.
 
Thailand Medical News strongly in the coming BA.4 and BA.5 surge, we will witness an increased mortality and also an increase in excess deaths due opportunistic secondary pathogenic infections in population that is largely inflicted with COVID-19 induced immunodeficiency.
 
For the latest of COVID-19 Associated Fungal Infections, keep on logging to Thailand Medical News.