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The immune system can get kicked into overdrive when the fungi run riot. //
Fungi are an indispensable part of your microbiome, keeping the body’s host of microorganisms healthy as part of a system of checks and balances. But when you’re hit by an infection, fungi can be thrown out of equilibrium with other organisms inside you, leading to a more severe infection and other symptoms of illness.
For this reason, the pandemic immediately set off alarms for Iliyan Iliev, an immunologist at Weill Cornell Medical School. “We were thinking, the first thing that’s going to happen is people will start getting fungal co-infections,” he says. With the microbiome unbalanced, fungi might start running riot inside Covidpatients, Iliev reasoned. His fears were soon realized. //
This complex crosstalk between the gut microbiome and the immune system is an example of how most things in the body are intertwined... //
Now, Iliev and Kusakabe are interested in exploring how fungal overgrowth may appear in long Covid—and how immunity is affected. “What’s the impact of this reprogramming of the immune system by the fungus and the virus?” Iliev asks. “What happens long-term if you have suffered from that?”