Resistant 'superbug' hitting hospitals in N.Y., N.J. should be declared public health emergency

A petri dish with candida auris fungus.


Resistant ’superbug’ hitting hospitals in N.Y., N.J. should be declared public health emergency, lawmaker says


A U.S. senator is calling for federal officials to declare a public health emergency over the a potentially deadly fungus that has been spreading at health care facilities in New York and New Jersey, among other states.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the Centers for Disease Control to declare an emergency over the candida auris fungus, which is drug-resistant and can survive in health facilities. The fungus can also remain “colonized," or active, in a patient for a long time, which can result in it spreading in those hospitals, according to the CDC.

The CDC calls it a “serious global health threat." It says the first U.S. cases started several years ago when people who had received health care abroad in an area that had an outbreak brought strains back with them.

The CDC has records of 613 cases nationwide. More than half were in the New York City area, followed by Chicago and New Jersey. The Garden State has 106 confirmed cases and 22 “probable” cases.

Read more: https://www.nj.com/healthfit/2019/05/resistant-superbug-hitting-hospitals-in-ny-nj-should-be-declared-public-health-emergency-lawmaker-says.html