A dangerous fungus that extends between US health systems is not slowing down, as reported.
New research has revealed that Candida Auris (C. Auris) has spread rapidly in hospitals since it was first reported in 2016.
In March 2023, the US disease control and prevention centers (CDC) reported more than 4,000 new clinical cases of C. Auris, which called it an “urgent antimicrobial threat (AR)”.
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The fungus can be resistant to multiple antifungal drugs and can cause “diseases that threaten life.”
C. Auris “easily spreads” in medical care facilities and mostly impact people who are already sick, the CDC declared on their website.
CDC have tracked the growth of C. Auris since 2016. (Istock)
A new study published in the American Journal of Infection Control on March 17 analyzed the clinical crops of C. Auris in the United States collected from 2019 to 2023.
The number of clinical crops increased by 580% from 2019 to 2020, by 251% in 2021, by 46% in 2022 and by 7% in 2023.
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“The volumes of clinical crops with C. Auris have increased rapidly, accompanied by an expansion in the sources of infection,” the researchers concluded, mainly from the University of Miami.
Joanna Wagner, from the Georgia Department of Public Health, shared with the local ABC News WJCL affiliate that Georgia, one of the impacted states, has detected more than 1,300 cases at the end of February.
“Many of the disinfectants who are registered in the EPA and historically used by hospitals and medical facilities are not effective against C. Auris,” Wagner said.
C. Auris is potentially deadly for sick people, but not a threat to healthy people, according to experts. (Istock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst and clinical professor of Medicine at Nyu Langone, believes that C. Auris is a “emerging problem of great concern,” Digital’s Fox News told Fox News.
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“It is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, and tends to spread in hospital environments, even in the equipment that is used in immunocompromised and semi-medocompromised patients, as fans and catheters,” he said.
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“Unfortunately, symptoms such as fever, chills and pains can be ubiquitous, and can be confused with other infections.”
The “important research” is ongoing to develop new treatments, according to Siegel.
C. Auris can cause symptoms such as fever, chills and pains, which can imitate other infections, said a doctor. (Istock)
“This is part of a much greater problem of resistance to emerging antibiotics in the United States and worldwide,” the doctor warned.
“At the same time, sterilization and disinfection measures in hospitals can be very useful.”
“This is part of a much greater problem of resistance to emerging antibiotics in the United States and worldwide.”
According to reports, medical care facilities in Georgia use cleaners certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency designed to attack the fungus.
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Although C. Auris can cause serious infections with high mortality rates in sick individuals, “it is not a threat to healthy people,” according to CDC.
Fox News Digital communicated with the author of the main study and the Department of Public Health of Georgia to comment.
