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sl8

(16,280 posts)
Tue Mar 21, 2023, 12:00 PM Mar 2023

The potentially deadly Candida auris fungus is spreading quickly in the U.S. [View all]

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/21/1164912425/candida-auris-yeast-fungus-cdc-spread

The potentially deadly Candida auris fungus is spreading quickly in the U.S.

March 21, 20232:12 AM ET
By Ayana Archie

The fungus Candida auris is becoming a more dangerous public health care threat, as the number of drug-resistant cases jumped in 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.

The fungus is resistant to several antifungal medications, but the CDC said it is not seen as a threat to healthy people. Still, the national public health agency is calling C. auris an urgent threat because of its resistance to medications. It can cause serious illness and death in people who are already sick, use invasive medical devices or have long or frequent stays at health care facilities.

About 30% to 60% of infected people have died from the yeast, though that is "based on information from a limited number of patients," the CDC said.

"The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasizes the need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control," CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman said.

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