The fungus, Candida auris, is a harmful form of yeast that is considered dangerous to hospital and nursing home patients with serious medical problems. It is most deadly when it enters the bloodstream, heart or brain. Outbreaks in health care facilities have been spurred when the fungus spread through patient contact or on contaminated surfaces.
Health officials have sounded alarms for years about the superbug after seeing infections in which commonly used drugs had little effect. In 2019, doctors diagnosed three cases in New York that were also resistant to a class of drugs, called echinocandins, that were considered a last line of defense.
Associated Press
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U.S. health officials said Thursday they now have evidence of an untreatable fungus spreading in two hospitals and a nursing home.
The “superbug” outbreaks were reported in a Washington, D.C., nursing home and at two Dallas-area hospitals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. A handful of the patients had invasive fungal infections that were impervious to all three major classes of medications.
“This is really the first time we ve started seeing clustering of resistance in which patients seemed to be getting the infections from each other, said the CDC s Dr. Meghan Lyman.
‘Superbug’ fungus spread in 2 Texas hospitals, DC nursing home health officials say
Mike Stobbe
Updated:
FILE - This 2016 photo made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a strain of Candida auris cultured in a petri dish at a CDC laboratory. On Thursday, July 22, 2021, the CDC said they now have evidence of the untreatable fungus spreading in a Washington, D.C, nursing home and at two Dallas-area hospitals. (Shawn Lockhart/CDC via AP)
NEW YORK – U.S. health officials said Thursday they now have evidence of an untreatable fungus spreading in two hospitals and a nursing home.
Superbug fungus spread in two cities, health officials say washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Outbreaks of a drug-resistant superbug fungus spread in two U.S. cities, CDC reports By Alexandra Larkin
July 22, 2021 / 8:56 PM / CBS News
Outbreaks of a drug-resistant superbug fungus spread among patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities in Texas and Washington, D.C., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. The fungus,
Candida auris, preys on people with weakened immune systems. The CDC said evidence suggests these cases involved person-to-person transmission, which would be a first for the U.S.
The clusters in the two cities appear to be unrelated to each other, the report said. The 30-day mortality in both outbreaks combined was 30%, although other health conditions may also have played a role.