Candida auris is resistant to all currently available therapies and has been causing concern among health authorities since outbreaks were recently detected throughout the United States.
The yeast infection was originally discovered in Asia in 2009 and was recently discovered at a Washington, DC, nursing home and two Dallas, Texas, hospitals.
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The infection is regarded as deadly for individuals over the age of 65 or those who have severe medical issues.
And it becomes more deadly when it reaches to bloodstream, heart, or brain.
Dr Meghan Lyman of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated:
“This is really the first time we’ve started seeing clustering of resistance in which patients seemed to be getting the infections from each other.”
The agency classifies outbreaks of fungus in healthcare settings as an “urgent” threat.
As with other viruses, they are readily transmitted through direct contact with patients or infected surfaces.
News of the outbreaks come as infection rates of Covid continue to remain at high levels in the United States.
However, some health professionals have cautioned that the elderly and clinically vulnerable may be more susceptible to contracting other infections if hospitalised with Covid.
Additionally, its resistance to treatment may result in it developing into a so-called “superbug.”
For years, health authorities have been warning about the risks of such diseases.
MRSA infection was one of these microorganisms that acquired antibiotic resistance.
This put the clinically vulnerable at death risk or becoming seriously ill if they contracted it, because with drugs unable to fight it – their already weakened immune systems were the only line of defence.
Between January and April of this year, the CDC documented many untreatable cases of Candida auris.
There were 101 Candida auris cases at the nursing home and 22 cases at the hospitals from January to April, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did not identify the facilities, the Associated Press reported.
Three of the patients at the nursing home and two at the hospitals had infections that were resistant to all three major classes of antifungal medications. Of those patients, both patients in Texas and one in Washington died.
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Dr Lyman said both are ongoing outbreaks, and more infections have been identified since April.
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