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Antibiotics Can Lead to Life-Threatening Fungal Infection Because of Disruption to the Gut’s Immune System - SciTechDaily
May 16, 2022 1 min, 32 secs

Hospital patients that are prescribed antibiotics are more likely to get fungal infections because of disruption to the immune system in the gut.

Patients prescribed antibiotics in the hospital are more likely to get fungal infections because of disruption to the immune system in the gut.

Using immune-boosting drugs alongside the antibiotics could reduce the health risks from these complex infections, according to a new study from the University of Birmingham and the National Institutes of Health.

The life-threatening fungal infection invasive candidiasis is a major complication for hospitalized patients who are given antibiotics to prevent sepsis and other bacterial infections that spread quickly around hospitals (such as C. diff).

Fungal infections can be more difficult to treat than bacterial infections, but the underlying factors causing these infections are not well understood.

A team in the University’s Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, in conjunction with researchers at the National Institutes of Health, discovered that antibiotics disrupt the immune system in the intestines, meaning that fungal infections were poorly controlled in that area.

Unexpectedly, the team also found that where fungal infections developed, gut bacteria were also able to escape, leading to the additional risk of bacterial infection.

The study, published in Cell Host and Microbe, demonstrates the potential for immune-boosting drugs, but the researchers also say their work also highlights how antibiotics can have additional effects on our bodies that affect how we fight infection and disease.

Rebecca Drummond said: “We knew that antibiotics make fungal infections worse, but the discovery that bacterial co-infections can also develop through these interactions in the gut was surprising.

“If we limit or change how we prescribe antibiotics we can help reduce the number of people who become very ill from these additional infections – as well as tackling the huge and growing problem of antibiotic resistance.”.

May 14, 2022

May 14, 2022

May 14, 2022

May 14, 2022

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