Drug-resistant bacteria found in medical settings Spreading at ‘amazing speed’ From 2020 to 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. The fungus Candida auris is generally not a threat to healthy people, but the CDC says it is a deadly threat to those who are very ill or hospitalized for long periods.
Importantly, the CDC notes that infections with C. auris are often resistant to many antifungal drugs and can spread in healthcare settings such as hospitals and nursing homes. Antifungal drugs work against diseases caused by fungi in the same way that antibiotics work against bacterial infections. Growing threat to public health.
From 2019 to 2021, 17 states will report their first cases of C. auris, and the number of cases unresponsive to the most common drugs has tripled in the past two years. paper CDC published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
“The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is a concern and drives the need for continued surveillance, expanded laboratory capacity, faster diagnostic testing, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control. emphatically,” CDC epidemiologist Dr. Megan Lyman, lead author of the paper, said in a news release on Monday.
Here’s what we know.
What is C. auris and how is it spread?
C. auris was first identified in 2009, but closer analysis revealed that it actually dates back to 1996. First reported in the United States in 2016, Considered an “emerging pathogen” by the CDC due to growth in countries other than the location originally identified.
C. auris is a fungus or yeast that can invade and spread into the bloodstream in some patients, causing very serious or fatal infections. It spreads in the medical field, Including hospitals and nursing homesDirect contact or touching a contaminated surface can trigger an outbreak, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
The more dangerous infections that infect the bloodstream usually occur in patients with many medical problems, according to the CDC. More than 1 in 3 diagnosed patients C. auris dies within a month.
Patients infected with C. auris tend to be already sick for other reasons, Symptoms may not always be noticeable According to the CDC, it can depend on the part of the body that’s infected.A laboratory test is required to diagnose C. auris infection. As such, the CDC is urging caution among healthcare professionals.
C. auris is primarily a threat to long-term hospitalized individuals. have a weakened immune system, are being treated with invasive medical devices (such as feeding tubes) or have multiple medical problems, the CDC says. According to the CDC, people who do not have these conditions or circumstances do not get this type of infection.
Why is it a threat now?
According to the CDC, the fact that patients may develop resistance to the drugs commonly used to treat C. auris and the rapid spread of C. auris infection make it an imminent threat. It has become.
Officials said the increase in the number of cases was likely due to “poor general infection prevention” at health facilities, but increased efforts to detect cases may also have contributed. The health care burden that led to the pandemic is also responsible for the surge in cases from 2020 to 2021, says the CDC.
“The timing of this increase and the results of the public health survey suggest that the strain on medical and public health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated the spread of C. auris.” The health agency wrote in a news release.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified physician if you have questions about your medical condition or health objectives. Talk to your health care provider.
