Mysterious Infection Spans Globe in a Climate of Secrecy
The rise of Candida auris embodies a serious and growing public health threat: drug-resistant germs.
9:02 VIDEO & ARTICLE
By Matt Richtel and Andrew Jacobs
The New York Times - April 6, 2019
[scroll all the way down page to see full article . . . hundreds of reader comments, too] -
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Keebler
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Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat. CDC is concerned about C. auris for three main reasons:
1. It is often multidrug-resistant, meaning that it is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs commonly used to treat Candida infections.
2. It is difficult to identify with standard laboratory methods, and it can be misidentified in labs without specific technology. Misidentification may lead to inappropriate management.
3. It has caused outbreaks in healthcare settings.
For this reason, it is important to quickly identify C. auris in a hospitalized patient so that healthcare facilities can take special precautions to stop its spread.
. . . . [scroll down page to see more detail & suggestions] -
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Keebler
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Growing resistance to antifungal drugs 'a global issue'
BBC - 18 May 2018 - [no authors listed]
Scientists are warning that levels of resistance to treatments for fungal infections are growing, which could lead to more outbreaks of disease.
Candida auris is responsible for increasing invasive fungal infections in hospitals
Excerpts:
Intensive-care and transplant patients and those with cancer are most at risk because their immune systems cannot fight off the infections.
Writing in Science, researchers said new treatments were urgently needed.
Fungal infections had some of the highest mortality rates of infectious diseases, an expert said.
An international team, led by researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Exeter, found a huge increase in resistance to antifungal drugs worldwide over the past 30-40 years.
EVERYWHERE IN THE AIR
Prof Matthew Fisher, professor of epidemiology at Imperial College London, said this was probably down to farmers spraying their affected crops with the same drugs used to treat fungal infections in patients.
The "unintentional by-product of this 'dual use' of drugs in the field and the clinic" was that drugs were no longer working in patients who were unwell, he said.
"There are fungi in the air all the time, in every lung-full of air we breathe," Prof Fisher said.
"Bodies with a fully functioning immune system do an amazing job of curing the infection - but it can become an invasive fungal infection in others and [this] needs a drug." . . . .
[Full article & photos at link above] -
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Keebler
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This drug-resistant fungus is spreading. Scientists warn of new superbugs to come
By Michael Nedelman - CNN - April 10, 2019
Excerpts:
It began in 2009, when doctors in Tokyo swabbed the ear of a 70-year-old woman
and found an unknown strain of fungus that can infect humans and, in severe cases, cause a blood infection in high-risk patients. It's called Candida auris. . . .
. . . A fungus that acts 'like a bacteria' . . . .
[Full article at link] -
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quote: CorMedix announced the results of a special culture sensitivity test of taurolidine against clinical isolates of C. auris, which showed 100% inhibition of the yeast at the concentration of taurolidine currently contained in Neutrolin®. As such, Neutrolin may prevent C. auris infections in one of the highest risk patient populations. Furthermore, incorporation of taurolidine into sutures, meshes, and hydrogels may help prevent C. auris infections in surgical wounds, burns and diabetic foot ulcers.
I have no idea what their "sensitivity test" was but maybe there is hope that something might currently be out there to combat Auris.
[ 04-10-2019, 07:23 PM: Message edited by: terv ]
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Keebler
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posted
- terv,
Wonderful to see some efforts being made. Thanks for your post.
---------------------------------
Excellent reporting by Matt Richtel, NYT. Full article at link.
How a Chicago Woman Fell Victim to Candida Auris, a Drug-Resistant Fungus
The mysterious infection has appeared at hospitals around the world, but few institutions or families have discussed their experience.
By Matt Richtel - The New York Times - April 17, 2019
Excerpts:
. . . Stephanie . . ., 64, had contracted a “rare, very rare, fungus.” . . .
. . . it appeared to have entered her bloodstream through a catheter or other intravenous line during her treatment . . . .
. . . Nearly 600 cases of C. auris have been reported in the United States, the majority of them in New York, New Jersey and Illinois. . . .
. . . nearly half of people who contract the illness die within 90 days . . . .
. . . It often has been hard to gather details about the path of C. auris because
hospitals and nursing homes have been unwilling to publicly disclose outbreaks or discuss cases, creating a culture of secrecy around the infection.
States have kept confidential the locations of hospitals where outbreaks have occurred, citing patient confidentiality and a risk of unnecessarily scaring the public. . . .
. . . Generally, health care institutions have said that they do not want to worry the public unnecessarily, . . .
[poster's interjection: This case only came to light because the patient's family shared the information with a journalist. The hospital, initially, said nothing - until the news broke by the family's efforts.]
[Lovely photo of the patient near the end of the article.]
. . . [She] died on Feb. 11. Her death certificate describes the cause as respiratory failure. . . . -
[ 04-18-2019, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
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Keebler
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posted
- Re: article in post just above this one.
My first thought of the medical folk who "don't want to worry the public"
Doctors think people are too emotionally weak to handle the truth?
In addition, they likely are covering their tails legally and create less stress to put into action preventative measures -- starting with how / why C. auris was in " a catheter or other intravenous line" in the first place?
Seems like patients with compromised immune functions in hospital settings are being blamed when - maybe - contaminated tubing or other invasive devices might be the first thing to consider.
Hospitals' concern about creating a "worried" public has nothing to do with the responsibility to inform, to educate, to provided detail that fosters an environment for all community members to brainstorm for all possible ways to prevent.
My view is that the "public" is comprised of intelligent people who have a right to know so as to be part of the solution / prevention.
Hiding the cause of death on the certificate leaves me speechless.
I am thankful to the family for sharing - and to the journalist for his good efforts to inform & educate an intelligent and proactive readership. -
[ 04-18-2019, 01:22 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
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Keebler
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The drug-resistant fungus, Candida auris, was only discovered 10 years ago, but is now one of the world's most feared hospital microbes.
There have been outbreaks across the world, and new research shows higher temperatures may have led to an increase in infections. . . .
. . . Here is everything you need to know about this new superbug. . . .
[Full article and world map of cases, at link] -
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
Goodness! We must keep ourselves well enough to avoid hospitals or like settings and their equipment.
But I certainly don't trust what they are saying in these sites about it only being found in certain settings.
We are educated enough to know that many super bacteria can take a healthy person to deathly ill person in no time at all.
Sometimes I wonder just how and why I survived the exposures I've had over the last 20 yrs and quite frankly my entire life. Today I know, so far of 21 different fungus,bacteria, viruses that I've been carrying around.
It's been a blessing to find and treat the biofilm level. I know I spent way too many years focusing on just Lyme and Bartonella.
The fungi and viruses were my true enemies.
Thank you Keebler for this thread.
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6478 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- Pam, Glad you find it of help. Great to hear you are succeeding, too.
My first action as consultant for common sense health safety would be:
install those anti-microbiol lights in all public restrooms & even on toilets (especially on planes, trains and port restrooms - schools, medical centers and food eateries) . . .
Flushing toilets spew stuff far and wide. That issue should be a top item to remedy, among others to stop the spread of germs in their place without poisoning people to do it.
Closing lids where they exist can help but it's hard to avoid walking into a public restroom and avoiding breathing the air when toilets are flushing.
Maybe disposable face masks would help (but that's a lot of paper stress on the environment if everyone did used one each time they went to a restroom).
I know it's not a priority for anyone in any position of planning or authority but I really think toilet spray is the most important place to begin. And loading up on caustic chemicals in those places would make things a lot worse for various reasons.
Antimicrobial lights - my first move (with expert advice) would be to consider the most effective action plan to swiftly embark upon. -
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
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posted
Keebler, funny you should mention the toilet spray again. It's been on my mind the last couple weeks.
I've read posts from you in the past mentioning it. Sure enough something is drawing my attention to it.
I don't believe it's necessarily just public restroom either. Even our own homes. After all toilets are toxic dump area.
I'll stop right there.
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6478 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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