The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the spread of Candida auris, a deadly and highly-drug resistant fungus, is occurring at an alarming rate in long-term care hospitals and other health facilities caring for very sick people.
Fungal infections from the yeast strain known as Candida auris have tripled nationally from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021, according to CDC data.
The fungus is not a threat to healthy people, but it poses a danger to medically fragile people, including nursing home patients on ventilators and cancer patients on chemotherapy.
The CDC experts say that the increased spread underscores the need for robust infection control plans to reduce transmission of the fungus.
Thorough cleaning of hospitals is challenging because of how long the fungus lingers on surfaces.
Some disinfectants commonly used in health care settings do not work against this fungus. The emergence of the fungus, detected more than a decade ago in India, South Africa, and South America, has perplexed researchers. The CDC says the spread of Candida can be stopped if hospitals emphasize surveillance, hand hygiene, and deep cleaning with the proper disinfectants.
Clinical cases of Candida auris, an emerging fungus considered an urgent threat, nearly doubled in 2021, according to new data from the CDC.
There was also a tripling of the number of cases resistant to echinocandins, the first-line treatment for Candida auris infections.
The CDC has called Candida auris an “urgent threat” because it is often multidrug-resistant, easily spreads through health care facilities, and can cause deadly disease.
Key Takeaways in a Nutshell – Health Newstrack
1. Candida auris is a deadly and highly-drug resistant fungus that is spreading at an alarming rate in long-term care hospitals and other health facilities caring for very sick people.
2. The fungus is not a threat to healthy people, but it poses a danger to medically fragile people, including nursing home patients on ventilators and cancer patients on chemotherapy.
3. The increased spread underscores the need for robust infection control plans to reduce transmission of a fungus that can cause outbreaks because it lingers on surfaces and spreads through contact with patients and contaminated objects.
4. The CDC has called Candida auris an “urgent threat” because it is often multidrug-resistant, easily spreads through health care facilities, and can cause deadly disease. The fungus is resistant to some common disinfectants and can be carried on people’s skin without causing symptoms, facilitating its spread to others.