Diseases and Treatment: III. Fungal Disease

Zoonotic disease is an infectious disease caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a bacterium, virus, parasite, or prion) that has jumped from an animal (usually a vertebrate) to a human. Rabies, Plague, and SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) are zoonotic diseases. Mucormycosis is not a zoonotic disease. Mucormycosis (previously called zygomycosis) is a serious but rare fungal infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes. These molds live throughout the environment. Mucormycosis mainly affects people who have health problems or take medicines that lower the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness. It is also known as black fungus. Symptoms depend on where in the body the infection occurs. It most commonly infects the nose, sinuses, eyes, and brain, resulting in a runny nose, one-sided facial swelling and pain, headache, fever, blurred vision, bulging or displacement of the eye (proptosis), and tissue death. Other forms of disease may infect the lungs, stomach and intestines, and skin.

Ergotism is a disease caused by consumption of contaminated grains. It is the effect of long-term ergot poisoning, traditionally due to the ingestion of the alkaloids produced by the Claviceps purpurea fungus that infects rye and other cereals.

‘Athlete’s foot’ is caused by a number of different fungi, including species of Trichophyton, Epidermophyton, and Microsporum. It is a disease in which infection occurs generally between the toes.

The femur is the longest bone in the human body. Vibrio cholerae is the causing bacteria for cholera. The athlete’s foot is an infectious disease caused by a number of different fungi, including species of Trichophyton, Epidermophyton, and Microsporum.

Seborrheic dermatitis disease is caused by the fungi. It is an inflammatory skin disorder affecting the scalp, face, and torso. Polio is caused by a virus while cholera is a bacterial disease.

Baldness is a fungal disease. AIDS is a fatal disease which affects the human immune system by HIV infection. Colour blindness is a genetic disorder.

The liver is the major digestive gland which is affected by aflatoxins. Some fungal species of Aspergillus and Penicillium produce aflatoxins that make food toxic.