'Superbug' fungus spread in 2 cities, health officials say

[riversedge]

Source: abc




U.S. health officials say they now have evidence that an untreatable “superbug” fungus has spread in two hospitals and a nursing home
By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical July 22, 2021, 5:59 PM




NEW YORK -- 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.

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.
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Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/superbug-fungus-spread-cities-health-officials-78994818

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This is serious stuff folks.

Link to tweet

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[applegrove]

1. Is this what they had in India?

[riversedge]

2. I do not know.

[applegrove]

3. Frightening.

[Eugene]

4. Different fungus.

The "black fungus" in India is Mucormycosis.

[applegrove]

12. Okay. Thanks.

[FakeNoose]

6. It's not Covid, which is a virus

This is a fungus, but it's one that the regular remedies can't kill or control.

An example of a fungus that many of us are familiar with - athlete's foot. We take athlete's foot for granted because a simple anti-fungal cream can easily get rid of it. But what if the athlete's foot cream stopped working? The fungus would eventually be all over your body invading everything. Hospitals are always careful to sterilize everything, but what if the fungus couldn't be killed by alcohol or high temperatures?

[applegrove]

7. There was a black fungus that accompanied some India covid cases

a few months back. That is what I meant.

[roamer65]

9. Different one in India.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57027829

[applegrove]

11. Yes. Still scary.

[roamer65]

13. Very.

[peggysue2]

33. That's exactly what I wondered

I read an article of the spread of a devastating fungal/mold infection among Covid patients in India, the infection starting in the sinus cavities and then spreading. Many patients lost their eyes in order to stop the spread which as indicated here is deadly if it enters the bloodstream.

Ghastly. You want to strike fear in people, this is the way to do it.

Yikes!

[Hekate]

5. KnR

[dalton99a]

8. Kick

Antimicrobial Products Against Candida auris:
The following products are registered for use with Candida auris (C. auris). EPA has reviewed laboratory testing data demonstrating that these products kill C. auris.
https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-p-antimicrobial-products-registered-epa-claims-against-candida-auris

[Canoe52]

10. The only thing left unchecked on my bingo card now is aliens.

[appalachiablue]

14. +1 When are the billions of toads, or frogs

coming? We had locusts, killer Wasps, Covid, and now Monkey Pox and Super Fungus. Mother Nature is raging mad at humans..

[TexasTowelie]

23. You forgot the land lobsters from hell.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/107854640

How quickly the time passes.

[appalachiablue]

30. ! Acid shooting scorpions from Hell

frightful looking! We're in trouble..

[slightlv]

36. Toads!

I found a toad in my backyard yesterday!

[appalachiablue]

39. Haven't seen a toad in ages, keep us posted!

[Generic Other]

15. I thought the Pentagon confirmed that too

My card has Melania dating Putin.

[FirefighterJo]

19. She...

... probably already did 😈

[littlemissmartypants]

16. I was just reading an AP article about this!! nt

[StarryNite]

17. Swell

Just what we need as if Covid weren't enough.

[GB_RN]

18. Candida auris Is Related To

Candida albicans, which if you're a parent, you might be familiar with, as infants tend to get oral infections from it (thrush). Women will no doubt be familiar with C. albicans. As a nurse on a heart/lung transplant unit, I'd see it as a bloodstream infection and have to hang a nasty smelling anti-fungal IV pretty frequently.

The "superbugs" (multi-drug resistant organisms, or MDROs) I saw were usually of the Staphylococcus spp. variety. When you've got ones that vancomycin won't touch - and I saw those - you're in trouble, but not totally screwed as there are other treatments, but they can be harsh (even vancomycin is harsh, as it can damage your hearing/kidneys). Fortunately, we never had C. auris. With it being "untreatable", until they come up with a new anti-fungal, this is really, really bad news.

[GPV]

26. Oh, yes. I remember thrush. Seems like for every step forward we take, we get knocked back ten.

[GB_RN]

32. Overuse of Antimicrobials Is The Problem

Even fungi, like thrush, can become immune to antimicrobials, and that's what we've got here. Unfortunately, there tends to be a lot of thrush/yeast infections in nursing homes (skilled nursing facilities or SNFs - pronounced "sniffs" - in the business), and my guess is that this mutation arose from overuse of antifungals. Amphoteracin b is one of our best, and used as front-line therapy for severe, systemic candidic infections, which includes the aforementioned bug in the article. So, if amphoteracin b out the window as a treatment, you're screwed...and in this case, you're screwed.

[LudwigPastorius]

20. Great.

We can't catch a break lately.

[herding cats]

21. For those interested I have a very good article to share from STAT news.

U.S. sees first cases of dangerous fungus resistant to all drugs in untreated people

For the first time ever, researchers have reported cases of people carrying or infected with strains of the dangerous fungus Candida auris that were resistant to all classes of antifungal drugs before any treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The agency also reported evidence of some transmission of the strains within health facilities.

Candida auris, or C. auris, which was first seen in 2009, has been highly resistant to the few available treatment options for several years, leaving people who treat and study fungal diseases concerned about the toll this superbug could take, particularly on severely ill patients. That there are now so-called pan-resistant cases in people who had never been treated with antifungal drugs is particularly unnerving, experts said.

The CDC reported on five cases, three in Washington, D.C., and two in Texas. In both locations, the cases were clustered within facilities. The facilities were not identified, but the fungus is most commonly diagnosed in very sick people who are in specialized long-term facilities.

https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/22/first-cases-candida-auris-resistant-to-all-drugs-untreated-people/

It's worth the read if this is your sort of thing. I don't think it's behind a paywall.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

22. Wonder if diet changes can help,

The Yeast Connection is always worth a read.

" Description
Product Description

An in-depth guide on how to suspect, identify, and over-come those health problems in people of all ages and sexes that can be traced to sensitivity to the yeast germ candida albicans.

The Yeast Connection also includes:
1. Easy-to-follow diet instructions;
2. Information about labratory studies and tests, prescription and nonprescription medications, and treatment with candida vaccines;
3. A discussion of the yeast connection to AIDS, suicidal depression, and sexual dysfunction;
4. Recommendations for vitamins, minerals, vegetable oils, garlic, and Lactobacillus acidophilus;
5. MUCH, MUCH MORE!

Yeast-connected health problems can be traced from the following symptoms:
-Fatigue
-Irritability"
-Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
-Digestive disorders
-Muscle pain
-Short attention span
-Headache
-Memory loss
-Vaginitis
-Skin problems
-Impotence
-Hyperactivity
-Depression
-Hypoglycemia
-Menustral problems
-Urinary disorders
-Respiratory problems
-Learning difficulties

[orleans]

24. my god! last year it was murder hornets and this year it's super-fungal!

[2naSalit]

25. Looks like...

Mother Nature is giving us the boot, gonna get us one way or another.

[Quakerfriend]

27. This has been around for several years but, now

starting to show up more.
It is also know as the “New Delhi” bug- no relation to COVID.
Very scary as it can manifest as run-of-the-mill UTI or URI (upper respiratory infection).

[bucolic_frolic]

28. You know, I'm getting really bad

almost as bad as Reagan. I try to recall from memory things I once read, but could never find again. So you've been forewarned. And this will be a serious abstraction from how medical professionals would describe it, I am sure.

There are something like 545 yeasts and fungus in the world? About 5-10 are seriously toxic to human health. Don't know if candida auris is one of them. We have yeasts, bacteria, virus running through our bodies at all times. Our gut flora digest, filter, select on what we put through. So yes, I'm alarmed, but some way will be found to control it. It may not involve what chemical companies are good at - single entity targeted to the culprit.

[ancianita]

29. CRISPR Cas9 has mapped it & they're working on it; antifungials are being genetically boosted

to beat C Auris's developed resistance.

Can't really explain this piece, but it looks to be what they're working on.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20183-3

[GB_RN]

37. Candida auris

Like C. albicans, causes infections in humans. The fact that it is now totally immune to top line therapy is really bad news.

I speak with experience as a nurse who’s worked in a transplant unit, and had to deal with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) before. They are difficult, but not impossible to get rid of. An organism that’s totally resistant to all known therapies is frightening to me. Patients that are immune-suppressed or otherwise comprised are very susceptible to infections by organisms such as Candida spp. and a totally resistant species will kill. Period. Even a healthy person can (but less likely to) get infected and would be screwed in this situation.

[sinkingfeeling]

31. I think Mother Nature has had enough of us screwing up the world.

[Evolve Dammit]

34. Between accelerating climate change, arms races and untreatable microbes, we are in deep goo.

[Javaman]

35. just got my new suit from the cleaners...

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