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Scientists discovered that several patients were infected with a superbug fungus across the US.
Based on the latest reports from the U.S. public health officials, 13 people were infected with a life-threatening superbug fungus.
Four of these people died due to the infection, but specialists haven’t established yet whether the deaths occurred because of the superbug fungus or they were caused by other health conditions. This fungal infection is called Candida auris and it is a growing issue across the world.
The CDC experts believe this drug-resistant fungus has spread in several medical care centers as well throughout the country. According to Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC Director, public health experts must take active measure to address this issue by protecting patients and Americans who are more likely to get infected.
The 13 United States cases were recorded from May 2013 to August 2016. Also, six of them are currently under CDC’s investigation. The other seven are registered in CDC’s Weekly Report.
The people included in the weekly report are from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Illinois. After being diagnosed with Candida auris infection, the patients spent a median of eighteen days in the hospital, but it is worth mentioning that they already suffered from other medical conditions as well.
Specialists discovered that two patients who received treatment in the same health care facility were infected with almost the same fungal strain. These findings point towards the fact that the superbug fungus might also be spread in other medical centers.
The CDC has previously issued another health alert in June this year regarding the C. auris which is spreading across the world. Therefore, the agency requested all laboratories to report any suspicious case and to provide patient samples to local and state health departments.
The experts are currently conducting a comprehensive investigation on this superbug fungus to find out its source. Professional laboratory testing is imperative in detecting the fungal infection because doctors usually misidentify it with another type of C. infection.
In such cases, patients receive the wrong treatment and their condition eventually gets worse. Based on the statistics, 71 percent of all C. auris strains collected from American patients proved to be resistant to some antifungal drugs, meaning that treating them is a challenging task.
According to Dr. Tom Chiller, CDC expert, this superbug fungus was first observed in the country a few years ago.
Image Source: Bioed Online
