While the world is still haunted by the memories of COVID-19, the United States of America (USA) went on high alert after a rare & deadly fungus was detected in most of its states. The fungus named Candida auris has created panic among America's CDC officials and even the World Health Organization (WHO) has labeled it a 'growing threat to public health' after it has been found in approx 40 countries around the world. Talking about numbers, reports suggest that Candida auris, a fungus discovered about 15 years ago in Japan, infected at least 2,377 people in the U.S. in 2022, up from 53 in 2016. As per CDC, Candida auris has a mortality rate of up to 60% and is particularly risky for people who are older or have compromised immune systems. Now, the question arises what is Candida auris and what are its symptoms?
What is Candida Auris and its symptoms?
As per official CDC website, Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat. CDC is concerned about C. auris for three main reasons:
1) It is often multidrug-resistant, meaning that it is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs commonly used to treat Candida infections. Some strains are resistant to all three available classes of antifungals.
2) It is difficult to identify with standard laboratory methods, and it can be misidentified in labs without specific technology. Misidentification may lead to inappropriate management.
3) It has caused outbreaks in healthcare settings. For this reason, it is important to quickly identify C. auris in a hospitalized patient so that healthcare facilities can take special precautions to stop its spread.
Candida auris, also called C. auris, is a yeast (type of fungus) that causes severe infections and can spread in healthcare settings. C. auris can infect any body part, including the blood or a wound. C. auris infections can be difficult to treat because most are resistant to at least one medicine used to treat fungal infections, referred to as an antifungal medicine. C. auris can also live on the skin or other body parts without making a person sick. This is called being “colonized.”
Colonization means that a person is carrying C. auris somewhere on their body, but does not have an infection or any symptoms of infection. If you have been around a patient with C. auris infection, your healthcare provider might run a simple test to see if you are carrying the fungus. People who are colonized with C. auris can pass the fungus to another person. If you are colonized with C. auris, you might later get sick from the fungus, so your healthcare provider might take certain steps to prevent infection.
Who gets Candida auris infection?
Scientists first discovered C. auris in Japan in 2009. Since then, it has spread quickly to other countries. C. auris has emerged in the United States and is quickly becoming more common.
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C. auris mainly affects patients who already have many medical problems. It often infects people who have had frequent hospital stays or live in nursing homes. It is more likely to affect patients who have weakened immune systems from conditions like blood cancers or diabetes, who receive lots of antibiotics, or who have devices like tubes going into their body (for example, breathing tubes, feeding tubes, catheters in a vein, or bladder catheters). Healthy people usually do not get C. auris infections.
How is Candida auris spread?
C. auris can spread from patient to patient in healthcare settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes, by direct contact. It might also be spread by contact with contaminated surfaces in the environment.
What are the symptoms of Candida auris infection?
Symptoms might not be noticeable because patients infected with C. auris are often already sick with another serious illness or condition. The symptoms of C. auris infection depend on the body part that is affected. For bloodstream infections, the most common symptoms are fever and chills.