First discovered in Japan in 2009 and first reported in the US in 2016, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described Candida auris as an “urgent antimicrobial resistance threat” in the US hospitals. Now, there is a rise again in cases of this drug-resistant fungal infection and this time they are coming from more sources, as a new US study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control has mentioned.
CDC also released a statement regarding the spreading of the same. The statement said, “CDC has deemed C. auris as an urgent AR [antimicrobial resistance] threat, because it is often resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, spreads easily in healthcare facilities, and can cause severe infections with high death rates.”
Jason Tetro, a microbiologist based in Edmonton and a specialist in emerging pathogens, said, “Candida auris is a yeast species. It’s a normal colonizer of the skin, and it can essentially hang out and do absolutely no harm to you. But if it happens to get into the mucous membrane areas or happens to get into your bloodstream, it can cause an infection and that can lead to significant problems.”
The US team that has brought out the new research about the rapid spread of the C. auris focused on a large health system based in Miami, Florida. It was found that “clinical cases had risen from 5 in 2019 to 115 in 2023 – a considerable jump of 2,200 percent in four years.”
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The study further mentioned, “Consistent with US national trends, C. auris rapidly spread in our community as noted by a sharp increase in the identification of C. auris from clinical cultures in 2020 and 2021, followed by a less steep rise in 2022 and 2023.” What is concerning is that a lot of strains of C. auris do not respond to regular treatments and are also resistant to disinfectants and common cleaners.
Talking about how the this fungal infection can spread despite following cleaning measures, Tetro said, “Most yeasts have an external shell that protects them against a lot of different types of these cleaners. So unless you’re using a hydrogen peroxide or a bleach, you’re really not going to get anywhere.”
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While the mortality rate of this Candida auris is around 50-60% as mentioned by Tetro, healthy people do not have to worry much about getting affected by it. However, people who are already fighting some illness and are admitted to hospital are the one who should be worried as their chances of falling victim to C. auris remain quite high. While bloodstream infections were one of the most common symptoms, there is also a rise in infections in bone, soft tissues, cerebrospinal fluid.
Regarding the preventive measures, CDC has a list of recommendations to follow. The US study also mentioned, “Measures to prevent the spread of C. auris rely on isolation and contact precautions. Our findings suggest that early identification of patients colonized with C. auris and the prompt deployment of infection prevention strategies can potentially impact the incidence of bloodstream infections.”
With such a rise in the cases of C. auris, it now remains to be seen what preventive measures are taken from the government’s side to ensure the safety of the common people.
