The fungus, which is often drug-resistant, has spread at an “alarming rate” in U.S. healthcare facilities, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Candida auris is an emerging fungus that is serious and potentially fatal to hospitalized patients, especially those with multiple health conditions.
The fungus was first identified in Asia in 2009, with the primary US case dating back to 2013. Candida auris was restricted to Recent York and Chicago, but has since been detected in greater than half of US states and has change into endemic in some areas , in accordance with a CDC report published within the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday.
From 2019 to 2021, 17 states detected their first cases of the fungus. In accordance with the CDC, California, the Mid-Atlantic region, the Midwest, Texas and Florida all had increasing transmission during this time.
Infections have increased by about 200% from about 500 infections in 2019 to over 1,400 in 2021. In accordance with the CDC, the fungus has spread probably the most in long-term care hospitals for individuals with serious medical conditions and requiring ongoing treatment.
Symptoms can vary greatly depending on the kind of infection, but fever and chills are probably the most common. Individuals with a weak immune system, diabetes, taking quite a lot of antibiotics or using respiratory tubes, feeding tubes and catheters usually tend to get sick.
A 2021 CDC report found that the death rate in two outbreaks of the echinocandin-resistant fungus was 30% inside 30 days. The cases studied within the outbreaks were mostly in seriously unwell patients in long-term care facilities, so the precise contribution of Candida auris to the deaths was unclear. Outbreaks occurred in Washington and Texas.
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Candida auris is often proof against drugs used to treat fungal infections. In accordance with the CDC, in 2020, 86% of samples were proof against a category of antifungal drugs called azoles and 26% were proof against amphotericin B.
Just over 1% of samples tested in 2020 were strains proof against the essential class of medicine used to treat such infections, called echinocandins, in comparison with 0.4% in 2018. The CDC said that while resistance to echinocandins is still rare, the number such cases tripled in 2021 in comparison with the previous two years.
“Even this subtle increase is concerning because echinocandins are the first-line therapy for invasive Candida infections and most Cauris infections,” the CDC said in its report.
The CDC attributes the rapid spread of the fungus to the decline in infection control throughout the pandemic as a consequence of strain on the healthcare system, from staffing and equipment shortages to a pointy increase in patient workload and increased use of antimicrobials.
“The rapid growth and geographic spread of cases is concerning and highlights the necessity for continued surveillance, increased laboratory capability, faster diagnostic testing, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control methods,” said CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman, lead creator of the report. .