Outbreak of Untreatable, Drug-Resistant Super-Fungus Unnerves Experts in Two Major US Cities

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As the delta variant of Covid-19 races through populations and consumes government and media resources, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced discovery of multiple instances of Candida Auris that appear to be resistant to all medicines in two health institutions in Texas and a long-term care facility in Washington, D.C.  According to researchers, the deadly, difficult-to-treat fungal infection spreading through nursing homes and hospitals across the United States is becoming even more dangerous. For the first time, the fungus, Candida Auris, has proven to be "utterly impervious" to all existing medication in several cases.

C. Auris, is a hardy yeast infection first found in Japan in 2009, and it is spreading rapidly throughout the globe.  During the coronavirus pandemic, federal health officials believe the disease spread more quickly and even farther, with overburdened hospitals and nursing homes unable to keep up with the surveillance and control procedures needed to manage local outbreaks.

According to the CDC's recent study, at least five out of over 120 cases of C. Auris were resistant to therapy.  The CDC did not name the facilities where the novel infections occurred. Still, health officials said there was no apparent link between the outbreaks in Texas at a hospital and a long-term care facility that shared patients and in Washington, D.C. at a single long-term care center. Between January and April, epidemics occurred.

According to the C.D.C., about a third of infected patients died within 30 days, although officials said it was unclear if their deaths were caused by the fungus because they were already "critically ill."

The CDC has discovered more than 2,000 Americans colonized with C. Auris - meaning the fungus was found on their skin - during the last eight years, with most cases centered in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California. Approximately 5% to 10% of individuals infected with the virus develop more severe bloodstream infections.

The fungus is difficult to eradicate from healthcare institutions once it has established itself, sticking to cleaning carts, IV poles, and other medical equipment. While the yeast infection is usually innocuous to individuals in good health, it can be fatal to critically ill hospital patients, long-term care facility residents, and others with weaker immune systems.

Dr. Cornelius J. Clancy, an infectious diseases specialist at the V.A. Pittsburgh Health Care System, told NatureWorldNews, "If you wanted to conjure up a nightmare scenario for a drug-resistant virus, this would be it." "Immunocompromised patients, transplant recipients, and critically sick patients in the I.C.U. would all be at risk from an untreatable fungal infection."

While C. Auris has a reputation for being difficult to treat, researchers discovered five individuals in Texas and Washington, D.C., who had infections that did not respond to any of the three primary antifungal classes. In addition, Panresistance had previously been reported in three C. Auris patients in New York.

Still, health officials said the newly registered panresistant infections occurred in patients who had never received antifungal drugs,  Dr. Meghan Lyman, a medical officer at the CDC specializing in fungal diseases, told the New York Times.

"What's alarming is that the individuals at risk aren't just a tiny group of folks who have infections and are already taking these medications," she added.

The discovery of a panresistant C. Auris is a sobering reminder of the risks presented by antimicrobial resistance, from superbugs like MRSA to antibiotic-resistant salmonella. According to the CDC, such diseases sicken 2.8 million Americans each year and kill 35,000.