GARDENERS are at risk of nasty infections from drug-resistant mould that lurks in soil, scientists warn.
Widespread exposure to the fungus — aspergillus fumigatus — could be behind at least two fifths of difficult-to-treat aspergillosis infections, researchers found.
The bug can be fatal if left untreated and immuno-compromised people are most at risk.
Dr Jennifer Shelton, of Imperial College London, said: “It is an opportunistic pathogen capable of causing a spectrum of chronic and acute life-threatening diseases in humans.
“The number of patients in the UK presenting with infections that are resistant to one or more of the clinical azoles is increasing in diverse patient groups.”
Aspergillosis is an infection caused by inhaling little parts of the fungus.
It is the most common missed infectious diagnosis in intensive care in Britain and affects up to 4,250 patients a year.
Most people breathe in spores of the fungus every day and not all varieties cause infections.
However, invasive apserillosis is always fatal if doctors do not or can not treat it, and occurs when the infection spreads rapidly from the lungs to the brain, heart, kidneys or skin.
Gardeners can be at risk from mould in soil, compost and rotting leaves, as well as plants, trees and crops.
The mould can also be found in dust, damp buildings and air conditioning systems.
Medics are concerned that growing levels of resistance to antifungal treatments could limit their ability to treat infections.
Experts believe anti-fungicides used in farming could be fuelling the resistance.
The study, published in Science Advances, took air samples across Britain to measure levels of the fungal spores.
Around 485 people in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland took 1,894 passive air samples on four days over the course of a year.
They took samples once each in summer, autumn, winter, and spring of 2018 to 2019.
Samples showed there was “widespread” amounts of resistant aspergillus fumigatus, researchers said.
Of the 2,366 fungal colonies found from 919 samples, 99 were resistant to clinical drugs frequently used to treat aspergillosis infections, including itraconazole and voriconazole.