A mysterious, deadly fungus is currently preoccupying researchers in the US: because no one knows exactly where the yeast fungus Candida auris comes from, the pathogen is also resistant to numerous drugs and disinfectants. The number of infections in some US states is “worrying”, according to experts. Nearly half of patients contracting the fungus die within 90 days, according to the U.S. Health Bureau.
The pathogen was only discovered relatively recently and has been a concern for health authorities around the world ever since. The yeast fungus Candida auris was only discovered in 2009 and has been conquering the world ever since. Current data from the US shows that there are many infections in some states.
According to US authorities, every second infected person died
“These are already significant numbers of cases, and the fungus is not even widespread in all states,” explains Oliver Kurzai of the University of Würzburg, head of the National Reference Center for Invasive Fungal Infections, according to n-tv.de. “This is concerning.” Common symptoms include a high fever and chills. As the “New York Times” reported, citing the U.S. health authority CDC, every second infected patient died within about three months — but it’s hard to say how many deaths can be directly attributed to the fungus, because these people previously had to contend with various other health problems.
The problem is that the pathogen has proven resistant to some antifungals (drugs to fight fungal infections) and many disinfectants. Although the fungus does not cause problems for healthy people when infected, it is dangerous to spread in hospitals and healthcare facilities – especially for people who are already sick or have weakened immune systems.
Mold can affect eyes, bones and internal organs
It is transmitted through smears, it cannot spread through the air. “Candida auris is a globally pathogenic yeast that can cause invasive candidiasis in the blood, heart, central nervous system, eyes, bones and internal organs,” the World Health Organization (WHO) warned.
The US health authority CDC already classified it as an “urgent threat” in 2019 – there is a reporting obligation in the states. In recent years, however, the spread has gained momentum, the authority has found in an investigation. In 2016 (the year the fungus was discovered in the US) there were 53 cases, in 2021 there were already 1471 – this corresponds to a doubling compared to the previous year 2020, in which 756 cases were recorded.
In an outbreak in a healthcare facility, the pathogen can prove to be extremely persistent: in 2015 and 2016, the heart surgery department of a London hospital was infected – the fungus even entered the bloodstream in nine patients. It took 16 months for the station to become sterile again. In an intensive care unit at Oxford University Hospital, an outbreak lasted 2.5 years – 70 people were affected.
Life-threatening fungal infections are rare
The fact that the pathogen is so persistent is due to its undemanding nature: As microbiologist Kurzai explains, the fungus can survive on surfaces for months. The fact that the fungus can be easily transmitted between humans is “an exception for fungi that can cause life-threatening infections,” explains Bernhard Hube of the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology in Jena.
Source: Krone
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