Life-threatening super fungus spreading across the United States, CDC warns
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sounding the alarm on a potentially life-threatening super fungus spreading across the United States.
The deadly yeast fungus is called Candida auris and it's lurking in hospitals and nursing homes.
Nearly 600 cases have been confirmed across the United States, the CDC reports.
While a majority of those cases are in New York, Illinois and New Jersey, several other states have each reported at least one case.
More than one in three people with an invasive Candida auris infection can die, according to Illinois health department officials.
The spread of the disease appears to focus on the cleanliness of medical facilities.
"If we don't change the way we clean rooms, then the Candida will hang out there. It could potentially infect the next person that enters the room," said Dr. Todd Ellerin, an infectious disease specialist.
Officials say the people most susceptible to the disease are those who have recently spent time in nursing homes and those with medical lines and tubes for feeding and other uses.
It can live on surfaces for weeks if not properly cleaned, officials said.
The CDC says the disease is often resistant to the three antifungal medicines available.
“This might be the red flag for physicians and prescribers to change their prescribing patterns in regards to antifungals in its entirety,” Dr. Eric Ascher of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York told WCBS. “A lot of times antibiotics and antifungals are not necessarily the answer to something that will just take time and go away on its own.”