Since last year, the US has recorded Candida auris outbreak that has been found to be a drug-resistant fungus. Science Times previously reported that it could be the deadliest strain ever as it is difficult to treat. It has been detected in Louisiana and 19 other states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
The Hill reported that New Orleans has recorded two new patients hospitalized due to the fungus at the University Medical Center. They add to the growing number of cases diagnosed across the country.
Jean Lee, a PhD student at Melbourne's Doherty Institute, displays the superbug Staphylcocus epidermidis on an agar plate in Melbourne on September 4, 2018.
Drug-Resistant Fungus Poses Danger to Global Health
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that Candida auris could be a serious global health threat in which most cases in the US were from local spread within healthcare facilities in the same city or state. Due to that, CDC reminds healthcare facilities to be on the lookout for the infection from patients who received treatment from other states or abroad.
As of August 2021, there are 1,100 cases but it increased today with 3,043 patients C. auris cases. The CDC also recorded 245 cases in California, 243 cases in Illinois, and 235 cases in New York last August. Aside from the US, several countries across the globe have reported patients getting infected with the drug-resistant fungus.
It is especially considered a dangerous emerging pathogen because it is difficult to identify using standard laboratory methods and infected individuals show few to no symptoms, but can cause serious bloodstream and wound infections. The fungus is also highly transmissible through direct contact between people and contaminated surfaces.
ALSO READ: Candida Auris: Deadly Fungus Found in Hospital Outbreak Isolated for the First Time in Nature
Two New C. auris Cases Reported in New Orleans
Two patients infected with C. auris were reported in New Orleans in which doctors in the hospital believe they could be undetected cases. Dr. Alfred Luk, the medical director of Transplant Infectious Diseases at Tulane University School of Medicine, told The Associated Press that more cases are expected to be found in the coming weeks.
"I know everyone is exhausted from alarmist news, but I'm really concerned about it," he said in an interview with the news outlet. "Usually when we find this ... I equate it to the tip of the iceberg."
What Caused the Fungus to Become Drug Resistant?
C. auris cases were relatively rare since it was discovered in 2009, according to CDC. But it continued to spread to more than 20 states and 30 countries over the years, wherein Brazil has even faced its reported outbreak in 2020. Last year, the US first reported its locally transmitted cases of the drug-resistant fungus.
Gizmodo reported that drug-resistant infections are becoming more common in recent years largely due to the mismanagement of drugs and lagging replacements.
However, the C. auris could be a different case. Experts said that it is more a self-inflicted wound compared to other superbugs. Some evidence suggests that rising temperatures brought by climate change in the recent decades may have triggered the emergence of drug resistance.
RELATED ARTICLE: Candida Auris Strikes Again! CDC Reports Two Outbreaks of Deadliest Drug-Resistant Strain in the US
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