A potentially deadly and drug-resistant fungus is rapidly spreading through U.S. hospitals, according to a government study.
Candida auris or C.auris can cause severe illness in those with weak immune systems. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of people who have been diagnosed with infection and those who were confirmed to have C. auris through screening has increased at an alarming pace since the first report of the disease in the United States.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Meghanlyman, chief medical officer at the CDC’s Mycotic Diseases branch, stated that the increases were “particularly in the most recent years are really concerning for us.” We have seen increases in transmission not only in existing areas, but also in new ones.
The CDC has issued a new warning in the Annals of Internal Medicine. This comes as Mississippi faces a growing epidemic of the fungus. According to Mississippi Today, at least 12 people have been diagnosed with C. Auris since November. There have been four deaths possibly associated with the infection. A long-term care facility is the main focus of the Mississippi outbreak, though a few cases have been reported elsewhere in the state.
According to the CDC, the fungus can be found all over the body and on the skin. It’s not a threat to healthy people, but about one-third of people who become sick with C. auris die.
Researchers at the CDC analyzed data from state and local health departments on people who had been affected by the fungus between 2016 and Dec. 31, 2021. They also looked at those who were “colonized,” meaning that they did not have the disease but were carrying it around on their bodies, with the potential to transmit it to others.
From 2019 to 2020, the number of infections grew by 59% to 756 and then by 95% to 1,471 in 2021.
Researchers also discovered that people who are not infected by the fungus, but have been colonized by it, increased by 21% in 2020 compared with 2019, and 209% in 2021. There was an increase of 4,041 people in 2021 compared with 1,310 in 2020.
The new study has shown that C. auris was now detected in more states than half of the U.S.
