FALSE: There is evidence that climate change is affecting harmful fungi
A claim that climate change is not affecting fungal outbreaks is FALSE.
A website claimed that a recent story about climate change's effect on fungi is not based on facts. The story is real and was published on Earth.com. The story refers specifically to three Aspergillus species.
But is it true that climate has no effect on fungi and fungus outbreaks?
Fungi are a diverse family of organisms that includes yeasts, moulds, and mushrooms. Fungi are important sources of food and are used in brewing and baking; they also help to break down decaying matter.
But fungi can also cause a number of diseases like ringworm and eye infections in humans, a variety of illnesses in livestock and other animals, and mildews and leaf rust in crops and plants.
PesaCheck has previously shown how climate change poses a threat to global health. A study found that human-caused global warming is "reshaping ecosystems and creating conditions that affect 58% of all known human infectious diseases, including fungal infections".
Already, the researchers warn, rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and more extreme weather are affecting growth, distribution, and virulence (ability to cause disease) of fungi.
There is already evidence that suggests that humans' changing of the climate has contributed to fungi expanding beyond their traditional geographic ranges, the emergence of new fungal pathogens, and increased resistance to traditional antifungal treatments.
One specific example is Valley Fever, a lung disease caused by fungi. In the United States, cases have quadrupled from 1998-2015, and researchers believe this is due to a concurrent climate-driven increase in dust storms.
Another pathogen, Candida auris, emerged in the Americas in 2016 and has since spread. It is multi-drug resistant and dangerous for the ill and children; the emergence is fueled by global warming.
Doctors have warned that Aspergillosis, caused by Aspergillus fungi, is on the rise because of climate change. Warmer climates mean spores are active for longer; more frequent dust storms and wildfires increase spores in the air, and agricultural changes cause more mould to breed.
"This means more spores in the air, and more people getting exposed—especially those living in cities with high pollution and construction," a news release from Continental Hospitals warned.
Climate models show that Aspergillus will spread as temperatures rise, threatening human health and crops.
Climate change may cause new fungal pathogens to emerge and affect current illnesses and diseases in a variety of ways (see below), for instance, increasing virulence and resistance to treatments.
Other researchers also warn that climate change is creating conditions for new fungal pathogens and "priming fungi to adapt to previously inhospitable environments".
Mycotoxin, a food contaminant produced by fungi and responsible for a variety of health issues, may be significantly increased under various, likely future climate change scenarios.
Many studies show how climate change will spur on infectious diseases, but researchers warn that this is not only a future problem.
"The effects of climate change on human infections are already a critical problem, as evidenced by recent disease outbreaks, and these problems have a strong connection with [the] environmental crisis," they write.
PesaCheck has examined a claim that climate change does not affect fungi outbreaks and finds it to be FALSE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here's more information on PesaCheck's methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck climate change fact-checker Christiaan van der Merwe and edited by PesaCheck chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck’s managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent's largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.