The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning people about outbreaks of a “superbug” fungus that’s resistant to drugs, and caution becomes the only option. Patients from hospitals and long-term facilities in Washington, D.C. and Texas are those having to deal with the threat, according to CBS News.
The fungus is known by the name of Candida auris, and it preys on people who have weak immune systems. What’s perhaps even more concerning is that the fungus can be transmitted from one person to another.
The pest is resistant to multiple anti-fungal drugs
Dr. Neeta Ogden, who is an internal medicine specialist, declared for CBS News in 2019 that Candida auris is “resistant to multiple anti-fungal drugs that we have, and it’s also resistant to all the things that we use to eradicate bacteria and fungal strains in the hospital.”
From all the 101 cases of the dangerous fungus found in Washington, D.C., from the beginning of the year to April, three of them were isolated as they were proved to be resistant against all three major classes of anti-fungal medications.
Twenty-two cases of Candida auris fungus were identified in Texas for the same period, and two of the cases turned out to be resistant against all three medications for fungus. Five of the cases proved to be resistant to two of the medications.
Dr. Meghan Lyman from the CDC and an author of the report, said as quoted by CBS News that “this is really the first time we’ve started seeing clustering of resistance” in which patients seemed to be getting the infections from other patients.
According to the CDC, Candida auris is also a type of yeast that has been causing severe illnesses for hospitalized patients in several countries around the world. For some of the patients, the yeast can access the bloodstream and cause serious invasive infections.