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Worldwide emergence of resistance to antifungal drugs challenges human health and food security
Abstract
The recent rate of emergence of pathogenic fungi that are resistant to the limited number of commonly used antifungal agents is unprecedented. The azoles, for example, are used not only for human and animal health care and crop protection but also in antifouling coatings and timber preservation. The ubiquity and multiple uses of azoles have hastened the independent evolution of resistance in many environments. One consequence is an increasing risk in human health care from naturally occurring opportunistic fungal pathogens that have acquired resistance to this broad class of chemicals. To avoid a global collapse in our ability to control fungal infections and to avoid critical failures in medicine and food security, we must improve our stewardship of extant chemicals, promote new antifungal discovery, and leverage emerging technologies for alternative solutions.
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Science
Volume 360 | Issue 6390
18 May 2018
18 May 2018
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Copyright © 2018, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
This is an article distributed under the terms of the Science Journals Default License.
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Published in print: 18 May 2018
Acknowledgments
We thank C. Thornton and G. Steinberg for their critical appraisal of the manuscript, C. Gurr for infographics based on ideas from N.J.H., and A. Abdolrasouli for assistance with literature searches. Funding: M.C.F. was supported by the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC; NE/K014455/1) and the Medical Research Council (MRC; MR/K000373/1), N.J.H. was supported through the BBSRC’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (BBS/OS/CP/000001), D.S. was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (FN 301003A-172958), and S.J.G. was supported by BBSRC (BB/PO18335, awarded to G. Steinberg and S.J.G.). Competing interests: None declared.
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Medical Research Council: MRC: MR/K000373/1
Swiss National Science Foundation: FN 301003A-172958
Natural Environmental Research Council: NE/K014455/1
UK Government Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: Smart Crop Protection
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