Resistant fungi threaten health and food crops

Every year, 1.5 million people die from fungal infections, and fungal pathogens limit food production. Azoles are an important chemical group used in medicine and plant protection, but frequent use of azoles can reduce their effectiveness.

The World Health Organization has now confirmed Aspergillus fumigatus as a critical risk to human health. This fungus is omnipresent and usually not dangerous to healthy individuals. However, for people with weakened immune systems, it can cause life-threatening infections that often require repeated azole treatments. Azole-resistant A. fumigatus is an increasing global problem, but little is known about the situation in Norway.

In the NavAzole project, the NVI is working with Rikshospitalet and NIBIO to map and understand the development of azole resistance in Norwegian strains of A. fumigatus and the cereal pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum. Agricultural fields, particularly cereal crops, may be "hotspots" for resistance development, explains NIBIO researcher Dr Andrea Ficke, as the fields are treated with azoles to prevent Septoria nodorum blotch and other diseases.

“A. fumigatus lives in the soil and can be exposed to agricultural azoles used for plant protection. We will investigate whether resistant A. fumigatus is present in cereal fields treated with azoles and whether there is a link between the development of resistance in P. nodorum and A. fumigatus.”

“We need to implement measures to slow resistance development. The use of integrated pest management plays an important role in reducing unnecessary fungicide use,” concludes Dr Ficke.