As it rapidly spreads across the United States, Candida Auris poses a severe threat to global health as a deadly fungal infection resistant to antibiotics.
The Annals of Internal Medicine published data, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made an announcement earlier this month that in healthcare facilities across the United States in 2020 and 2021, Candida auris (C. auris) is spreading at an “alarming rate.”
Brief Overview
In 2021, the number of cases resistant to echinocandins, the antifungal medication most used to treat C. auris infections, tripled. The CDC’s Mycotic Diseases Branch tracks the number of C. auris cases to neutralize impact and strategize prevention while informing public health practices.
Most patients in the United States result from local spread within and between hospitals in the same city or state. Two thousand three hundred seventy-seven clinical cases and 5,754 screening cases occurred in 2022. More than 400 clinical cases of C. auris were reported in New York, one of several states.
According to data from the CDC, 326 clinical patients of C. auris were reported in New York in 2022. Both confirmed and probable clinical cases of C. auris are included in the screening. Those involve collecting swabs from patients to determine whether they may be carrying the organism somewhere on their bodies without showing active signs of infection.
The CDC states contagious contamination is a dire antimicrobial obstruction (AR) danger since it’s impervious to different antifungal medications, spreads effectively in medical services offices, and can cause severe diseases with high passing rates.
End Note
Since its first report in 2016, the fungus has spread throughout the United States, with 3,270 clinical cases (those with infection) and 7,413 screening cases (those without the disorder) reported through December 31, 2021. Since 2016, clinical cases have increased annually, with the most rapid increase occurring in 2020 and 2021.
