The drug resistant fungal infection Candida Auris has infected more than 30 people in the U.S. The virus can be deadly and was first reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in June of 2016. The fungal infection also gained attention around the world. Candida Auris can lead to serious bloodstream infections. These infections are communicable or contagious. The fungal infection can survive at least a month on a person’s skin while traces of it have been found on chairs, bed rails, and hospital equipment weeks after the initial exposure.
Candida Auris is a fungus species that grows as yeast. It is one of the few species in the genus that causes infections in humans. People can get the fungal infection while in the hospital. It is resistant to multiple drugs and was first described in 2009. It is fast becoming a global health threat and can be hard to identify.
Perfscience reported that the first reported case of the fungal infection was in Japan from a patient with an ear infection. It was also reported in several other countries such as Kenya, the United Kingdom, India, Columbia, and Kuwait. In the U.S., the highest area of infection is in New York with 28 cases out of 60 being Candida Auris. Other cases of the disease have been reported in Illinois and New Jersey.
According to the CDC, the fungal infection is resistant to all of the major antifungal drugs. Reports have surfaced that “60 percent” of patients with the fungus do not survive, but of these, the patients had other “serious underlying illnesses.” Tom Chiller speaking with Perfscience said that after alerting the public, information started to be reported to the the CDC, which helped them better understand how it spreads and how it’s acting. Chiller is a doctor and the associate director for epidemiologic science at the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases at the National Center for Emerging and Infectious Zoonotic Diseases.
Medical Xpress reported that a new study was investigating how fungal infection remains drug resistant. Mahmoud Ghannoum, Ph.D., MBA, FIDSA, and professor at Case Western School of Medicine said that the “eradication of Candida Auris from hospitals is very difficult and in some cases has led to closing hospital wards.” Business Insider reported that since the fungal infection arrived, it highlighted the “need for major, coordinated public health efforts to address the emerging problem of drug-resistant diseases in hospitals.” Higher doses of antifungal medication may be necessary to treat the fungal infection. For now, the healthcare community continues to be aware of the disease and are researching ways to prevention further infection.
By Cheryl Werber
Photo Courtesy CDC