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The drug-resistant mushroom, Candida auris, was only discovered 10 years ago, but is now one of the most feared microbes for hospitals.
There have been epidemics around the world and new research shows that higher temperatures may have led to an increase in infections.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called for a better understanding of who is most vulnerable to reducing risk.
Here's all you need to know about this new superbug.
What is Candida auris?
Candida auris (C. auris) is a yeast, a type of fungus, that can cause infections in humans.
It is related to the very common Candida albicans, which causes lily of the valley.
It was first discovered in the auditory canal of a Japanese patient at the Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatrics Hospital in 2009.
Most of the time, Candida yeasts live on our skin without causing problems, but they can cause infections in case of discomfort or if they are found in the wrong place, such as blood or lungs.
What kind of disease does this cause?
C. auris most often causes blood infections, but can also infect the respiratory system, the central nervous system and internal organs, as well as the skin.
These infections are usually quite serious. Worldwide, up to 60% of patients infected with C. auris have died.
The fungus is often resistant to the usual drugs, making infections difficult to treat.
In addition, C. auris is often confused with another infection, which leads to poor treatment.
This means that the patient could be sick longer or worse.
"A number of UK hospitals have already experienced epidemics requiring the support of Public Health England," said Dr. Elaine Cloutman-Green, an infection control practitioner and clinical lecturer at UCL.
She added: "C. auris survives in a hospital environment and cleaning is the key to control.The detection can be serious for individual patients and for the hospital because control can be difficult. "
Dr. Colin Brown, Medical Microbiology Consultant for Public Health England's National Infections Service, said: "NHS hospitals that have suffered an outbreak of C. auris have not found it as a cause of death in any of these countries. patient.
"PHE is working closely with the NHS to provide specialist support and advice on infection control measures to limit the spread of C. auris."
Should I worry about having an infection?
It is unlikely that you will develop a C. auris infection.
However, the risk is higher if you are hospitalized for a long time or in a retirement home, and ICU patients are much more likely to develop C. auris infection.
The risk of getting an infection is also higher if you have taken antibiotics often, as these drugs also destroy the good bacteria that can prevent C. auris from entering.
In the United Kingdom, approximately 60 patients have been infected with C. auris since 2013.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control reported that more countries are reporting cases of C. auris infections worldwide.
Most European countries have reported some, Greece being the last – in April of this year.
Why is C. auris resistant to the usual medications?
Resistance to common antifungal drugs, such as fluconazole, has been observed in the majority of C. auris strains found in patients.
This means that these drugs do not work on C. auris. For this reason, less common antifungal medications have been used to treat these infections, but C. auris has also developed resistance to them as well.
DNA evidence shows that antifungal resistance genes in C. auris are very similar to those found in the very common C. albincans.
This suggests that resistance genes have moved from one species to another.
How can climate change be responsible for the high number of infections?
One study suggests that C. auris infections have become so common, perhaps because this species has been forced to live at higher temperatures due to climate change.
Most fungi prefer the cooler temperatures found in the soil. But, as global temperatures rose, C. auris had to adapt to higher temperatures.
This may have facilitated the growth of the fungus in the human body, which is warm between 36 and 37 ° C.
What can be done to reduce the number of infections?
Better understanding who is at greatest risk of acquiring a C. auris infection is the first step in reducing the number of infections.
Health professionals need to know that people who spend a lot of time in hospitals, retirement homes or immunocompromised people are at high risk.
Not all hospitals identify C. auris in the same way. They are sometimes confused with other fungal infections, such as lily of the valley, and the wrong treatment is given.
The improved diagnosis will help identify patients with C. auris earlier, which means that the right treatment is administered – by preventing the spread of infection to other patients.
C. auris is very resistant and can survive for a long time on surfaces.
Nor can it be killed with the most common detergents and disinfectants.
It is important to use the right cleaning chemicals to eliminate them from hospitals, especially in the event of an outbreak.
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