The scariest superbug on the CDC’s radar has hit 5 new states in just 2 weeks – and shows no sign of letting up, officials warn
A superbug fungus is on the CDC’s radar after sweeping across US hospitals
At the end of April, US officials said there had been 66 cases since 2013
As of May 12, that figure had rocketed up to 77 in 7 states across the US
The yeast is resistant to most mainline treatments, has 60% mortality risk
By Mia De Graaf and Mary Kekatos
DailyMail.com
19 May 2017
The most worrying ‘superbug’ on the CDC’s radar is sweeping the United States at alarming speed, officials warn.
Candida auris, a harmful form of yeast resistant to most drugs with a 60 percent mortality rate, is emerging as a new menace.
It started in New York and New Jersey, but has now been spotted in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts and Oklahoma.
The spread has triggered the CDC to update its guidelines – urging medics to quarantine C auris sufferers.
Health officials sounded alarms last year because two of the three kinds of commonly used antifungal drugs had little effect in treatment.
First identified in Japan in 2009, the fungus has spread to more than twelve countries around the globe.
At the end of April, data showed there had been 66 cases since 2013.
By May 12, that figure rocketed up to 77, with another 45 people being monitored for ‘close contact’ with affected patients.
In a report published this week, the CDC analyzed the first 35 clinical isolates.
Their findings showed that 86 percent were resistant to fluconazole, 43 percent were resistant to amphotericin B, and 3 percent were resistant to echinocandins – the standard treatment for a bacterial infection like this.
Most cases, they said, were spread in hospitals or between family members.
‘In Illinois, three cases were associated with the same long-term care facility,’ the researchers wrote in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
‘In New York and New Jersey, cases were identified in multiple acute care hospitals, but further investigation found most had overlapping stays at interconnected long-term care facilities and acute care hospitals within a limited geographic area.
‘The case in Massachusetts was linked to the Illinois cases.’
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