Robert Besser
25 Mar 2023, 13:09 GMT+10
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that infections by the potentially deadly fungus Candida auris are spreading rapidly in healthcare facilities in the US, with cases nearly doubling between 2020 and 2021.
This week, the agency's researchers reported in Annals of Internal Medicine that in 2021, the number of cases rose by 44 percent to 476, up from 330 in 2018.
In 2021, the number of cases that were resistant to echinocandins, the class of drugs most often recommended for treatment of the disease, also tripled.
A persistent high fever with chills, even after being treated with antibiotics, could be a sign of a Candida auris infection, and those who are seriously ill, are often treated with invasive medical devices, such as mechanical ventilators, or have long or frequent hospital stays and are particularly at risk, the report said.
In a statement, study leader Dr. Meghan Lyman 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."
The spread of the infections in 2021 may have been exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare systems, the CDC added.
While the report did not include data from 2022, the CDC's website confirmed 2,377 cases of Candida auris infections in the US in 2022, a sharp increase from 53 in 2016, when cases were first reported in the United States.
Other countries have also reported the spread of the fungus, researchers said.
Get a daily dose of Irish Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.
More InformationDHAKA, Bangladesh - The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against 13 members of Grameen Telecom's board of directors, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Commerce Department has said that trade ministers from 14 countries have taken part in the US-led ...
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky: Two horses that succumbed to their injuries at Churchill Downs have become the 11th and 12th fatalities over ...
FREMONT, California: Brain implant company Neuralink announced that it has received approval from US regulators to begin human brain implant ...
JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana: Randy Lankford, owner of Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana, has pleaded guilty to more ...
DENVER, COLORADO: A federal judge has ruled that a rural Colorado school district can ban a high school student from ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland has set a record as unemployment fell to 3.8 percent in May, according to the Central Statistics ...
PORTLAND, Maine: Fishermen in the US's only commercial-scale fishing industry for valuable baby eels, called elvers, have recorded a productive ...
WARSAW, Poland: Plans are underway in Poland to gradually raise the minimum wage twice in 2024. The wage plan has ...
BEIJING, China: China will put into commercial operation its first large passenger airliner, in a bid to challenge western plane ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland's homeowners and businesses expect to see still more reductions in the cost of natural gas as the ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, has said the company could consider leaving Europe if it could ...