Citizen Science Surveillance of Triazole-Resistant <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i> in United Kingdom Residential Garden Soils
Jennifer Shelton, Roseanna Collins, Christopher B. Uzzell, Asmaa Alghamdi, Paul S. Dyer, Andrew C. Singer, Matthew C. Fisher
Abstract
The findings presented here highlight compost as a potential health hazard to individuals with predisposing factors to A. fumigatus lung infections and as a potential health hazard to immunocompetent individuals who could be exposed to sufficiently high numbers of spores to develop infection. Furthermore, we found that 14% of A. fumigatus isolates in garden soils were resistant to an agricultural triazole, which confers cross-resistance to medical triazoles used to treat A. fumigatus lung infections. This raises the question of whether compost bags should carry additional health warnings regarding inhalation of A. fumigatus spores, whether individuals should be advised to wear facemasks while handling compost, or whether commercial producers should be responsible for sterilizing compost before shipping. The findings support increasing public awareness of the hazard posed by compost and investigating measures that can be taken to reduce the exposure risk.