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An elderly patient hospitalized last May at Mount Sinai Hospital in Brooklyn underwent an operation in the abdomen. A blood test revealed that he was infected with a fungus called Candida Auris, which was recently fatal. He died 90 days later, while traces of the mushroom were found in every corner of his room.
Since then, the fungus has spread imperceptibly throughout the world.
Candida Auris in a petri dish
Candida Auris attacks patients whose immune system is weakened. It was discovered for the first time in 2009 in Japan, but an badysis of Candida strains revealed that it had already been identified in 1996 in South Korea. For the past five years, he has been seen in a neo-natal ward in Venezuela, in a hospital in Spain, and has forced a prestigious British medical center to close his intensive care unit. The fungus has also been identified in India, Pakistan and South Africa.
An article published in The New York Times claimed that the deadly mushroom had recently reached New York, New Jersey and Illinois, prompting US centers for disease control and prevention to include it in the list of dangerous and violent bacteria.
The Brooklyn patient died 90 days after admission to the hospital, but Candida Auris has not disappeared. The tests revealed that the fungus was everywhere in the patient's room and that the situation was so severe that the hospital needed special cleaning equipment and had to dismantle several ceilings and floor slabs to do so disappear from its surface.
Mount Sinai Hospital, Brooklyn
"The mushroom was everywhere – on the walls, the bed, the doors, the curtains, the phones and the sink," said Dr. Scott Lorraine, president of the hospital, "Even the mattress, the bed rails, window handles and ceiling.
Candida Auris is considered particularly problematic because of its resistance to currently available antifungal medications.
Drug-resistant bacteria are often called "super-bacteria", but in reality they do not kill the entire population, but are particularly deadly for patients with immature or weakened immune systems, including infants and the elderly, smokers , diabetics and people suffering from steroids. autoimmune disorders.
Scientists say that if new, more effective drugs are not developed, humanity may soon find itself facing one of the most acute problems: drug-resistant infections. For decades, public health experts have warned that the widespread use of antibiotics is reducing the effectiveness of life-saving drugs.
The recent discovery of resistant fungi, in addition to resistant bacteria, worsens the situation and raises the level of risk to a new high. "It's a huge problem," said Professor Matthew Fisher, a specialist in the epidemiology of mushrooms at Imperial College London, who recently published a study on fungi foci. "We depend on our ability to treat patients with antifungal medications."
In fact, fungi – just like bacteria – develop defenses resistant to modern drugs. Candida Auris is one of dozens of dangerous bacteria and fungi that have developed drug resistance. However, the level of threat to the general public is still unknown.
Dr. Lynn Sosa, an epidemiologist, said Candida Auris was the most serious and most serious threat among drug-resistant infections: "It's invincible and hard to diagnose," said Dr. Sosa, who says that nearly half of the deceased patients, can die within 90 days.
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