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

[sl8]

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.

[...]

[hlthe2b]

1. Multiple problems treating this--- not the least that most classes of antifungals have been in short

supply for several years (major unrelated fungal outbreak in India and supply chain issues).

And then there are resistance issues...
Many of the classes of antifungals may still work (Amphotericin B, Fluconazole and other triazoles, and the Echinocandin class drugs) but at levels that dramatically increase toxicity. That said some isolates have been found to be highly resistant to all three classes removing any remaining options.

Research on new antifungal drugs has languished, not only because of the pandemic COVID and other emerging viruses but because of the critical nature of bacterial resistance requiring a considerable emphasis on creating new antibacterial agents.

And THIS, at a time when we have such anti-science attitudes in Congress that $$$ for R&D at NIH and through grants to academic centers is quite an uphill battle.

Those of us in medicine see the acuity of the problem but will anyone listen?

[orthoclad]

6. The evidence says no.

We'll likely ignore it until it passes the exponential knee and becomes unavoidable, much like covid or global heating.

[appalachiablue]

2. Not good, thanks for posting. K/R

[czarjak]

3. Reason To Worry #

[GenXer47]

4. we're all gonna fuckin die

I'm just gonna be grateful for each day and not make any more plans in life.

[orthoclad]

5. There is also a climate-change aspect

C. auris developed the ability to tolerate human body temperatures and thus became dangerous. Research gives evidence that this is because it evolved to cope with global heating:
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.01397-19

See also https://democraticunderground.com/1127160590

One more consequence of petrochemical mining.

[sl8]

7. Interesting, thanks.

The DU link gives me a '403' error, though.

[orthoclad]

8. It's under Environment and Energy

"More good climate news: fungus"

[sl8]

9. Got it, thanks. :) nt