Page 12 - Green knowledge 2024

Photo: Silje Kvist Simonsen
Resistant fungi threaten health and food crops
Fungicide resistance in human, animal and plant diseases are of increasing concern.
NIBIO, Rikshospitalet and the Norwegian Veterinary Institute (NVI) are collaborating to
understand the risk of fungicide resistance in Norwegian agriculture and the environment.
Every year, 1.5 million people die from fungal infec-
tions, and fungal pathogens limit food production.
Azoles are an important chemical group used in
medicine and plant protection, but frequent use of
azoles can reduce their effectiveness.
The World Health Organization has now confirmed
Aspergillus fumigatus as a critical risk to human
health. This fungus is omnipresent and usually not
dangerous to healthy individuals. However, for
people with weakened immune systems, it can cause
life-threatening infections that often require
repeated azole treatments. Azole-resistant A. fumig-
atus is an increasing global problem, but little is
known about the situation in Norway.
In the NavAzole project, the NVI is working with
Rikshospitalet and NIBIO to map and understand
the development of azole resistance in Norwegian
strains of A. fumigatus and the cereal pathogen Par-
astagonospora nodorum. Agricultural fields, par-
ticularly cereal crops, may be “hotspots” for resist-
ance development, explains NIBIO researcher Dr
Andrea Ficke, as the fields are treated with azoles to
prevent Septoria nodorum blotch and other diseases.
“A. fumigatus lives in the soil and can be exposed to
agricultural azoles used for plant protection. We will
investigate whether resistant A. fumigatus is present
in cereal fields treated with azoles and whether there
is a link between the development of resistance in P.
nodorum and A. fumigatus.”
“We need to implement measures to slow resistance
development. The use of integrated pest manage-
ment plays an important role in reducing unneces-
sary fungicide use,” concludes Dr Ficke.
Purpose: Collaboration: Funding: Contact: NavAzole aims to map and understand the development of azole resistance in Norway.
Norwegian Veterinary Institute (project lead) and multiple national partners
The Research Council of Norway
Research Scientist, Andrea Ficke, Division of Biotechnology and Plant Health.
Email: Andrea.Ficke@nibio.no | Phone: +47 924 31 557
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