Deadly fungal infection spreading at an alarming rate, CDC says

A drug-resistant, potentially deadly fungus is spreading rapidly in U.S. health care facilities, according to a new government study.

The fungus, a type of yeast called Candida auris or C. auris, can cause serious illness in people with weakened immune systems. The number of people found to have auris has risen at an alarming rate since it was first reported in the United States, say researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prophylaxis was reported on Monday.

“The increase, especially over the last few years, is really worrying for us,” Meghan Lyman, Ph.D., lead author of the study and chief medical officer of the CDC’s Division of Fungal Diseases, said in an interview. rice field. “We have seen increases not only in areas of ongoing infection, but also in new areas.”

The CDC’s new warning, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, comes as the state of Mississippi battles a growing outbreak of the fungus. At least 12 people have contracted C. auris since November, and there have been four “potentially related deaths,” according to Mississippi Department of Health spokesperson Tammy Yates.

Two long-term care facilities have ongoing infections, although cases have been confirmed at several other facilities in the state.

“Unfortunately, multidrug-resistant organisms such as C. auris are prevalent among individuals at greatest risk, such as residents of long-term care facilities,” said Yates.

According to the CDC, fungi can be found on the skin and all over the body. Although not a threat to healthy people, about one-third of people infected with C. auris die.

In the CDC report, researchers analyzed state and local health department data on people infected with the fungus from 2016 to December 31, 2021, and those who were “colonized.” You may send it to others who may be more vulnerable to it.

The number of cases will increase by 59% to 756 from 2019 to 2020, and by 95% to 1,471 in 2021.

The researchers also found that the incidence among people not infected with the fungus but colonized by it increased by 21% in 2020 compared to 2019, increased by 209% in 2021, and increased to 1,310 in 2020. By 2021, the number will have increased to 4,041.

C. auris is now found in more than half the states in the United States, new research reveals.

Of greatest concern is the increase in fungal samples resistant to common treatments. Lyman hopes the paper will put his C. auris on the radar of health care providers and encourage facilities to practice “good infection control.”

The new findings are “worrisome,” said Dr. Waleed Javed, an epidemiologist, infectious disease expert and director of infection prevention and control at Mount Sinai Downtown in New York City.

“But I don’t want people who see ‘The Last of Us’ to think that we’re all going to die,” said Javaid. “This is an infection that usually occurs in very sick individuals who have many other problems.”

Even if C. auris migrates beyond health care facilities and into the community, it is unlikely to be a problem for healthy people who do not have invasive medical devices such as catheters inserted into their blood vessels, Javaid said. rice field.

The main problem is preventing the fungus from spreading to patients in hospital intensive care units, Javaid said. It may become established.

“By its nature, it has an extreme ability to survive on the surface,” he said. “It can settle on walls, cables, bedding, and chairs. Clean everything with bleach and UV light.”

The fungus was first identified in Asia in 2009, but after reexamining older data and finding instances where C. auris was misidentified as another fungus, scientists discovered that C. auris was We determined that it first appeared around the world about ten years ago. , Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of infection prevention at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said in an interview.

“This is the pattern we’ve observed with these types of pathogens,” he said. “It’s often very rare at first, then it appears in more and more places and spreads far and wide.”

Snyder said it’s important to prevent pathogens from spreading beyond hospitals and long-term facilities, like the drug-resistant bacterium MRSA.

“It’s not uncommon to see MRSA in the community today,” Snyder said. “Does it happen in C. auris? We don’t know. That’s part of the reason the CDC is issuing the warning.”