A highly infectious and deadly fungus puts the world on alert

A new health threat alerted specialists from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States, which detected that infections with a fungus have tripled in the last year.

It is a strain of the fungus candida auris that it is resistant to most drugs and that, although it is not dangerous for healthy people, it is potentially fatal for people with weakened immune systems.

In fact, according to experts, it is precisely in patients in hospitals and nursing homes where the fungus is most prevalent. According to figures reported by the CDC, one-third of people who contract a blood, brain, or heart infection and have another illness die.

“If the fungus enters a hospital, it is very difficult to control and remove it. They can persist in causing infections for a considerable period of time despite the best efforts of the infection control team and everyone else in the hospital,” William Shaffner of Vanderbilt University said in statements. made to the American newspaper The Washington Post.

According to the CDC, this fungus was discovered in 2009 and very little is known about it except that it is resistant to most fungicidal drugs and its symptoms can easily be confused with those of other infections.

Its resistance is another relevant factor: it has been shown that the fungus can stay for several weeks on the surfaces. So far, infections with this fungus have been reported in a dozen countries, including the United States, where reports of infections have quadrupled in the past year alone.

“The most common symptoms of an invasive Candida auris infection are fever and chills that do not improve with antibiotic treatments for a bacterial infection. Only laboratory tests can diagnose Candida auris infection.

Maintaining hygiene in hospitals or when visiting patients, good ventilation in the places assigned to them and daily checks are the measures that the Center for Disease Control recommended to stop contagion with the deadly fungus.

Author: Editorial El Heraldo de México
Source: El Heraldo De Mexico