- CDC warns of "alarming" rate of spread of Candida auris fungal infection
- Infection cases nearly doubled in 2021, jumping from 756 to 1,471
- The disease was found to be immune to currently the available anti-fungal treatment
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns of the rapid spread of the country's deadly fungal infection known as Candida auris that threatens immunocompromised individuals.
Health experts raised concern over the "alarming" rate of spread of the infection in the country as cases nearly doubled in 2021, jumping from 756 to 1,471. CDC officials said that while healthy people were not at risk of the infection, those with weak immune systems or medical devices such as ventilators or catheters are at risk of severe illness or death.
Rapidly Spreading Fungal Infection
Most of the cases that health experts tested were found to be immune to the currently available anti-fungal treatment. This is why the health agency has called it an "urgent antimicrobial resistance threat." Many of the infected people were in hospitals and elderly care homes.
In a statement, the recent study's lead author, CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman, said that one out of three patients who have invasive infections lose their lives. Furthermore, she added that it becomes difficult to assess the exact role of fungal infection in vulnerable patients, as per BBC.
Health experts first reported the infection in the United States in 2016, with the most rapid rise in cases observed from 2020 to 2021. Another reason why the CDC raised the alarm is because of the rise in cases that became "resistant to echinocandins." It is the anti-fungal medicine that experts recommend to treat the infection.
The health agency attributes the rapid increase in infection to poor preventive measures at healthcare facilities and enhanced screening efforts. Furthermore, the situation could have been caused by the strain on healthcare and public health systems during the COVID-19 health crisis.
Lyman said there is an increased need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, faster diagnostic tests, and compliance with proven infection prevention and control procedures. Several other nations have also been experiencing a rise in Candida auris cases.
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Drug-Resistant Disease
Lyman noted that another concerning factor of the situation is that they saw infections not only in regions with the ongoing transmission but also in new areas. The CDC's warning comes as the Mississippi Department of Health is battling a growing fungal infection outbreak, according to Yahoo News.
In an email, Mississippi epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said that since November, at least 12 people were infected with Candida auris. He noted that four of these were "potentially associated deaths."
Scientists also warned that the fungal infection could rapidly spread in healthcare settings through contact with contaminated surfaces or equipment or from person to person. Furthermore, the CDC revealed that 30% to 60% of patients infected with Candida auris die, said HuffPost.
