Deadly and treatment-resistant fungus is spreading rapidly across the US

A new government study has found that a drug-resistant and potentially deadly fungus is rapidly spreading through US healthcare facilities. Yahoo.

Photo: IStock

A fungus, a type of yeast called Candida auris or C. auris, can cause severe illness in people with weakened immune systems. The number of people diagnosed with infections, as well as those who are screened to be carriers of C. auris, has been increasing at an alarming rate since it was first reported in the US.

“This increase, especially in recent years, is really concerning to us,” lead study author Dr. Megan Lyman, chief medical officer for the CDC's Division of Fungal Diseases, said in an interview. “We are seeing growth not only in areas of ongoing transmission, but also in new areas.”

On the subject: Massachusetts student amputated legs and arms after eating roommate's meal

A new CDC warning, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, comes as the Mississippi Department of Health is battling a growing outbreak of the fungus. Since November, at least 12 people have been infected with C. auris, four of whom have died, state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said.

Transmission continued at two long-term care facilities, although cases were identified at several other facilities in the state.

“Unfortunately, multidrug-resistant organisms such as C. auris have become more prevalent among people at highest risk, such as residents of long-term care facilities,” Byers said.

The fungus can be found on the skin and throughout the body, according to the CDC. It is not a threat to healthy people, but about a third of people who get C. auris die.

Like the article? Support ForumDaily!?

In the CDC report, the researchers analyzed data from state and local health departments on people who contracted the fungus from 2016 to December 31, 2021, as well as those who were "colonized"—that is, who were not sick but were carriers with the potential to pass it on to others. people who may be more vulnerable to the fungus.

The number of infections increased by 59% to 756 from 2019 to 2020 and then another 95% to 1471 in 2021.

The researchers also found that the incidence of people not infected with the fungus but colonized by it increased by 21% in 2020 compared to 2019 and by 209% in 2021, to 4041 in 2021 compared to 1310 in 2020.

A new study has found that C. auris is now found in more than half of the US states. The highest levels are in Texas, Nevada, Florida, California, New York and Illinois.

Most worrying was the increase in fungal samples resistant to conventional treatments. Lyman hopes the article will bring C. auris to the attention of healthcare professionals and encourage healthcare providers to practice "good infection control."

The new findings are "worrisome," said Dr. Walid Javid, an epidemiologist, infectious disease expert and director of infection prevention and control at the Mount Sinai Center in New York.

"But we don't want people who watch One of Us to think we're all going to die," Javid said. “This is an infection that occurs in extremely sick people with many other health problems.”

Even if C. auris moves out of medical settings and into communities, Javid says it's unlikely to be a problem for healthy people who don't have invasive medical devices, such as catheters inserted into blood vessels. The main problem, he said, is preventing the spread of the fungus among patients in intensive care units of hospitals. Unfortunately, C. auris can colonize not only people exposed to the fungus, but also patient rooms.

“By its nature, it has an extraordinary ability to survive on surfaces,” he said. - It can colonize walls, cables, bedding, chairs. We clean everything with bleach and ultraviolet.”

Although the fungus was first identified in 2009 in Asia, scientists determined that C. auris had first appeared about ten years earlier, after they re-examined old records and found cases where C. auris was misidentified as a different fungus.

“This is the pattern we've seen with these types of pathogens,” said Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of infection prevention at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “They often appear in small areas, then appear in more and more places and become widespread.”

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New Y.

It's important to stop the pathogen so it doesn't spread outside of hospitals and long-term facilities, as drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria did, Snyder said.

“It’s not unusual to see MRSA in the community now,” Snyder said. — Will this happen with C. auris? I don't know. This is partly why the CDC is sounding the alarm.”

Read also on ForumDaily:

How to get rich and succeed, regardless of starting positions: 12 tips from the author of the cult book

Frozen fruit mix recalled in the US: it may be infected with hepatitis A

Bats are not to blame: scientists believe that COVID-19 started because of raccoon dogs in a market in Wuhan

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.