Citizen science reveals landscape-scale exposures to multiazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus bioaerosols.
File(s)sciadv.adh8839.pdf (1.36 MB)
Published version
OA Location
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Using a citizen science approach, we identify a country-wide exposure to aerosolized spores of a human fungal pathogen, Aspergillus fumigatus, that has acquired resistance to the agricultural fungicide tebuconazole and first-line azole clinical antifungal drugs. Genomic analysis shows no distinction between resistant genotypes found in the environment and in patients, indicating that at least 40% of azole-resistant A. fumigatus infections are acquired from environmental exposures. Hotspots and coldspots of aerosolized azole-resistant spores were not stable between seasonal sampling periods. This suggests a high degree of atmospheric mixing resulting in an estimated per capita cumulative annual exposure of 21 days (±2.6). Because of the ubiquity of this measured exposure, it is imperative that we determine sources of azole-resistant A. fumigatus to reduce treatment failure in patients with aspergillosis.
Date Issued
2023-07-21
Date Acceptance
2023-06-20
Citation
Science Advances, 2023, 9 (29), pp.1-9
ISSN
2375-2548
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Start Page
1
End Page
9
Journal / Book Title
Science Advances
Volume
9
Issue
29
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37478175
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2023-03-20