Clusters of Candida auris are being seen for the first time in America. This disease is considered incurable, as it is not affected by antifungal drugs.
Cases of Candida Auris Reported in the US
Cases of ‘incurable’ Candida auris have been reported in the US amid the coronavirus pandemic. Health officials reported cases of the incurable fungus on Thursday from two hospitals in the Dallas area and a nursing home in Washington DC. Candida auris is a dangerous form of yeast. It is considered extremely dangerous for patients with serious medical conditions, as it can cause infection in the bloodstream and even death.
CDC’s Meghan Ryan said she was looking at a cluster of Candida auris for the first time, in which patients are infecting each other. 101 cases of Candida auris were reported in a Washington DC nursing home. Of these, three were cases that were resistant to all three types of antifungal drugs. At the same time, a cluster of 22 cases of Candida auris were reported in two hospitals in the Dallas area. Out of this, two cases were found to be multidrug resistant. CDC has come to the conclusion that this infection is spreading from patients to patients. This is in contrast to 2019, when scientists concluded that three patients in New York developed drug resistance during treatment.
Why is Candida auris a serious health threat?
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one in three patients with Candida auris infection die. The US Health Agency has described the emerging fungus as a serious global health threat. The CDC is concerned about this fungus, as it is often multi-drug-resistant. This means that it is resistant to many antifungal drugs used to treat the infection. The difficulty in diagnosing the infection using standard laboratory methods is increased, as misdiagnosis can lead to incorrect treatment.
How to identify Candida auris infection?
Most of the people with severe candida infection were already suffering from some disease. In such a situation, it becomes more difficult to know whether someone has Candida auris infection or not. According to the CDC, fever and chills are the most common symptoms of Candida auris infection. At the same time, the symptoms do not improve even after antibiotic treatment for the infection. Scientists are still trying to figure out why Candida auris infections are resistant to antifungal drugs and why this fungal infection has started spreading in recent years.
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