The infected person dies within 90 days? Is the "super fungus" really coming?

Rumors

Recently, the news that "Candida auris has spread to half of the states in the United States" has caused panic among some people. Some people say that↓

▶ Nearly half of patients infected with Candida auris die within 90 days

Is this true? Will it cause a large-scale infection? Don't panic, you will find the answer after reading this article.

Recently, a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a "super fungus" spreading in the United States at an alarming rate has attracted the attention of the entire Internet. What exactly is this "super fungus" and will it cause a new round of global spread?

What are "super fungi"?

The "super fungus" mentioned in the news refers to Candida auris , scientifically known as Candida auris, a member of the Candida family. Speaking of Candida, I believe everyone is familiar with it. It is widely distributed in nature and also exists in the body of healthy people. A few of them have even become our symbiotic bacteria. Of course, there are about 20 species of Candida that can cause human infection, including Candida auris.

Candida auris was first collected from the ear canal secretions of a 70-year-old woman at the Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital in 2009. It is called a "super fungus" because of its extreme survival and reproduction capabilities, multi-drug resistance, and difficulty in accurate detection. This fungus is often found in hospital infections and is difficult to treat.

Image source: Copyright Library

How contagious is Candida auris?

Who is susceptible?

Candida auris infection is contagious to a certain extent and has not yet been included in the scope of legal infectious diseases in my country. The main known transmission route of the disease is contact transmission:

First, contact with objects stained with ear secretions from an infected person may cause infection, such as headphones, earplugs, ear picks, towels, pillows, doctor-patient clothing, and skin.

Second, some studies suggest that the bacteria can also enter the blood or wounds, causing serious invasive infections.

Third, this fungus may also exist in public baths, swimming pools and other environments, and infection may occur when the ear canal is adsorbed by the fungus.

In addition, Candida auris can exist for a long time in specific areas such as the skin, rectum or mouth of healthy people, a process called "asymptomatic colonization". In this process, no symptoms of infection are shown, but the fungus can be transmitted to other people, and if one's own immunity drops sharply, it can also cause self-infection.

Healthy people are not susceptible to the disease. It mainly infects people with multiple underlying diseases, poor immunity and those who are hospitalized for a long time.

People who meet the following characteristics should pay more attention:

1. People who use broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungal drugs for a long time;

2. Hospitalized patients using central venous catheters, breathing tubes, feeding tubes, and bladder catheters;

3. Patients hospitalized for a long time;

4. People with compromised immune systems.

Image source: Copyright Library

Will it really cause large-scale infection?

No need to worry too much

This is not the first time that "super fungus" has attacked, and there have been related reports in my country before.

Since its discovery, Candida auris has been reported to cause infection and even death around the world. In 2016, US health authorities reported that Candida auris infection caused 13 deaths; in 2022, the Argentine Ministry of Health also announced that two cases were found in the country's capital; in 2022, the number of infections in the United States further increased to 2,377.

In 2018, a team from Peking University and the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported the discovery of the first case in China. As of now, there have been 25 cases publicly reported in China, but most of them are sporadic, with fewer clustered infections, and most of them are superficial infections.

This round of infection in the United States is growing rapidly, with cases reported in more than half of the states. This also suggests that it has shown a certain trend of transmission among certain special groups within hospitals.

The infected person dies within 90 days?

It has been reported that nearly half of those infected with Candida auris die within three months. This is actually a description of the course of the disease and the mortality rate, and to a certain extent reflects the severity of the disease.

In reality, the symptoms and mortality of Candida auris infection are related to the site of infection. For example, the mortality rate of blood infection is about 30%-60%, while the mortality rate of infection in the urethra and respiratory tract is lower.

At present, Candida auris has been listed by the World Health Organization as fungi that pose a serious threat to human health, but there has been no prediction of large-scale infection. my country has been carrying out monitoring of drug-resistant fungi, so the public does not need to worry too much, but it is still necessary to pay appropriate attention to relevant information.

Image source: Copyright Library

Strengthen prevention

It is an important means to reduce the incidence of infection

Relevant vaccines are under development, and currently strengthening self-protection is the most effective means of preventing infection.

If you have recently visited a country with a related epidemic, you need to wash your body and clothes carefully and disinfect your clothes after returning to China. Try not to contact people with low immunity and hospitalized patients in the short term to avoid the risk of transmission.

When choosing disinfectants, you should also pay attention to the fact that alcohol and iodine are ineffective against this bacteria. Chlorine-containing disinfectants and hydrogen peroxide can be used.

In daily life, we should avoid unnecessary or excessive use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungal drugs to prevent drug resistance. At the same time , we should pay more attention to hand hygiene and avoid sharing items such as ear picks, headphones and towels.

Author: Zhang Yu, researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, doctor of medicine, and master's supervisor

Review | Bi Yuhai, Deputy Director of the Influenza Research and Early Warning Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences

The article is produced by "Science Refutes Facts" (ID: Science_Facts). Please indicate the source when reprinting.

The pictures in this article are from the copyright gallery and are not authorized for reproduction.