March 21, 2023 – Cases of a potentially deadly and increasingly treatment-resistant fungus called Candida auris have skyrocketed 200% since 2019, prompting the CDC to issue a warning to healthcare facilities in regards to the growing threat.
C. auris is a yeast fungus that spreads easily by touching a surface comparable to a countertop. It can even spread from individual to individual. It will not be a threat to healthy people, but people in hospitals and nursing homes are at increased risk because they could have weakened immune systems or use invasive medical devices that may introduce the fungus into their bodies. When C. auris When the disease progresses and causes an infection that reaches the brain, blood or lungs, a couple of in three people die.
The worrying increase was described intimately in Tuesday's issue of the magazine Annals of Internal MedicineIn 2021, there have been 3,270 cases with lively infection and seven,413 cases where the fungus was present but didn’t cause infection. Infection rates increased by 95% in comparison with the previous 12 months and the fungus was detected thrice as often in screenings. The variety of cases that were proof against drugs also tripled.
The CDC called the numbers “alarming” and identified that the fungus was only discovered within the United States in 2016.
“The timing of this increase and the results of public health investigations suggest C. auris The spread may have worsened due to the strain on health care and public health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the CDC said in a Press release.
Another possible reason for the rise could possibly be that screening for C. auris has simply increased and is being found more actually because individuals are searching for it more. However, researchers imagine that despite the rise in testing, the reported numbers are an underestimate. That's because despite the increased testing, healthcare providers still aren't searching for the presence of the fungus as often because the CDC would really like.
“The rapid increase and geographic spread of cases are concerning and underscore the need for continued surveillance, expanded laboratory capacity, faster diagnostic testing, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control measures,” study creator and CDC epidemiologist Meghan Lyman, MD, said in a press release.
Cases of C. auris proceed to rise in 2022, the CDC said. Map The agency's website shows that the fungus has been present in greater than half of the U.S. states, with the very best numbers recorded in California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New York and Texas. The fungus is an issue worldwide and is being World Health Organization.
The authors of the study concluded that screening capacities for the fungus must be expanded nationwide in order that C. auris is detected, measures might be taken to forestall its spread.