NEW YORK cases of infection by a dangerous mushroom tripled in just three years USand more than half of states have already registered for confirmation, according to a new study.
The Pandemic of COVID19 likely caused part of the increase, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrote in the article published Monday, May 20, by the Annals of Internal Medicine. Health care workers have been overwhelmed by coronavirus patients and this has likely diverted focus from disinfecting some other types of germs, they said.
The fungus Candida auris is a form of yeast that is generally not harmful to healthy people but can pose a fatal risk to frail patients in hospitals and nursing homes. It spreads easily and can infect wounds, ears, and the bloodstream. Some strains are what are known as superbugs, being resistant to all three classes of antibiotics used to treat yeast infections.
Isolation beds in a negative pressure ward in Hong Kong; Researchers point to a link between the rise in infections from a dangerous fungus and Covid’s overburdening of healthcare services Photo: Tyrone Siu/Portal
The infection was first identified in Japan in 2009 and has been observed in more and more countries. The first US case occurred in 2013 but was not reported until 2016. Health authorities reported 53 cases this year.
The new study found registrations continued to grow, rising to 476 in 2019, 756 in 2020 and then 1,471 in 2021. Doctors also found the fungus on the skin of thousands of other patients, at risk of spreading it to others.
Many of the first US cases were “imported” from abroad, but now most infections have spread within the country itself, the authors note./AP