Fungal infections have become increasingly common in the United States, but unlike illnesses caused by bacteria or viruses, no vaccine protects against a fungal threat. While scientists hold no concern that a fungal infection like the one seen in HBO’s “The Last of Us” will wipe out humanity, the infections are certainly a cause for concern.

Fungi cause a wide range of illnesses in people, from irritating athlete’s foot to life-threatening bloodstream infections. In the US, fungal infections account for over 75,000 hospitalizations and nearly 9 million outpatient visits each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2021, around 7,200 people died from fungal diseases. One type of fungus, Candida auris, can resist all of the drugs used to treat it, and can put hospitalized and nursing home patients at risk. The fungus first identified in Japan in 2009, exists in over 30 countries, including the U.S. Climate change also threatens to make several infection-causing fungi more widespread: The fungus that causes Valley fever thrives in hot, dry soil, and the fungus that causes an illness called histoplasmosis prefers high humidity. Despite the growing threat, currently no licensed vaccines — in the U.S. or abroad —exist to prevent these fungal infections.

“Fungus, typically found in the hot, dry soils of the Southwest, is an emerging threat. These are the most important infectious diseases that you have not heard of. A vaccine has the potential to move forward and protect a large swath of individuals,” immunologist and vaccine expert Karren Norris said.

In preclinical trials, the experimental vaccine developed by Norris and her team generated antifungal antibodies in animals, including rhesus macaques. With funding support, the researchers could start and finish the human vaccine trials within the next five years. In Arizona, researchers focus+ on a vaccine to prevent Valley fever, a lung infection caused by the fungus Coccidioides. So far, the vaccine shows effectiveness in dogs. While experts know which fungi to target, a vaccine slowly develops, due to a lack of funding. People in public and private spaces do not see fungal vaccines as a critical unmet need. Respiratory viruses, such as the ones that cause Covid, the flu or measles, infect millions of people and lead to thousands of hospitalizations worldwide each year. The viruses can put anyone in danger, in any part of the world, he said, illustrating the need for vaccines to prevent those diseases. 

“There are so many different types of fungal infections so I don’t know if we’ll get a vaccine to cure each one or just one. If you can have something to eradicate the most common types of fungal infections such as athlete’s foot, I’m pretty sure it would be highly beneficial. But I think the reason there’s no vaccine for fungal infections is that they’re not that detrimental,” NC nurse Fikera Gerald said.