A mortal, Medicines resistant fungus which attacks patients and the elderly continues to spread in hospitals and healthcare establishments for the elderly across the country, killing more than 1 in 3 infected.
Candida Auris, A type of yeast that can cause potentially fatal disease, was identified for the first time in the United States in 2016 with 52 infections reported across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States.
THE number of cases More than doubled each year, reaching 4,514 in 2023, the last year that the CDC had available data. During this same period, California reported 1,566 infections, more than any other state.
The CDC published a public security announcement declaring C. Ear An “urgent threat” in 2023 because it resisted many antifungal drugs, spread quickly in health establishments and can cause serious infections with high mortality rates.
“The rapid rise and the geographic spread of cases are worrying and emphasizes the need for continuous surveillance, expanded laboratory capacity, faster diagnostic tests and accession to prevention and control of proven infections,” said Dr. Meghan Lyman, the CDC epidemiologist.
Now there are signs that the fungus is in motion again. The Ministry of Public Health of Georgia recently reported a Increase in cases in health establishments and a recent study I found an alarming rate of gap in Florida hospitals.
C. Ear propagates by direct contact with colonized or infected individuals, contaminated surfaces and medical equipment.
A colonized person has the fungus on his skin but has no symptoms. In an infected person, the fungus invades the body and causes symptoms such as fever, chills, sepsis and organ failure.
The risk of infection is particularly high for patients with catheters, respiratory tubes or feeding tubes because they create direct entry points for C. Ear To enter the blood circulation or the lungs. Most healthy people do not risk seriously infections.
“Most patients who get infections Candida Auris are themselves sick enough to start, “said Stuart Cohen, head of infectious diseases at UC Davis.” It is something that can push people above and become deadly. ”
Studies have found C. Ear Infections have a mortality rate From 30% to 60%.
To prevent the spread of the disease, most Californian hospitals have implemented screening procedures for patients transferred from high -risk health care. Those who have had C. Ear are then isolated from the rest of the hospital.
“The objective is above all to protect residents of your hospital,” said Cohen. “When someone arrives for a procedure, he does not expect to go home with a deadly illness or to have spent time in the USI to an infection in the hospital.”
The most common disinfectants do not kill C. ear; who can live on surfaces for weeks. However, there are specialized products that hospitals can use to eliminate yeast.
