Potentially deadly, the fungus that usually kills in just 90 days is already present in more than half of the US states.

According to a study published this week in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the number of infections in the US increased dramatically between 2019 and 2021. The researchers warn of the rise in cases resistant to echinocandins, the main drug used to treat infections with the Candida fungus.

He The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) now considers it a “pressing threat of antimicrobial resistance” Because it spreads easily in health care settings, it is becoming increasingly resistant to antifungal drugs and can cause serious, sometimes fatal infections, especially in hospital and nursing home patients with serious medical problems.

In some patients, the CDC report says, this fungus can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body, causing serious invasive infections. It often does not respond to commonly used antifungal medications, making infections difficult to treat.

Patients who have been hospitalized for a long time have a central venous catheter or other lines or tubes in their body, or have previously received antibiotics or antifungal medicines, appear to be most at risk of infection.

The essentials you need to know about Candida auris

1. A lab test is needed. Symptoms are not always detected because infections often occur in people who are already sick with another illness. In addition, according to the CDC, the fungus can infect different parts of the body and cause different symptoms.

2. Most infections can be treated with echinocandins, but not all. Several new antifungal drugs are being developed, but more research is needed to understand patient outcomes with these highly resistant strains and to guide treatment.

3. Healthy family members have a low risk of becoming infected. If they visit a family member with an infection in a nursing home or hospital, they should wash their hands thoroughly afterwards, according to the GGD.

Threat

Infobae highlights that Scott Roberts, an infectious disease specialist at Yale School of Medicine, while not involved in the new study, warned that the increasing prevalence and drug resistance of Candida auris is a serious threat to health.

“I think this problem will not go away. I think it will only increase over time,” he considered, noting, “Unlike other mushrooms normally obtained from the environment, Candida auris spreads easily from person to person”.

And he added: “Once it is established, for example in a nursing home, it is almost impossible to eradicate. As with patients, they can be colonized for years, even their entire lives.”