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Experts have warned that a fungal infection, immunized against drugs, sweeps the world.
The newly discovered germ called Candida auris can stay on skin and objects such as furniture and equipment in hospitals for a long time.
This means that it can spread indirectly between patients and make more vulnerable those with weak immune systems, including the sick, the elderly and babies.
The most disturbing is that C.auris can be resistant to the three major clbades of antifungals, leaving few treatment options to doctors.
In the past five years, he has hit medical centers around the world, including a neonatal unit in Venezuela and a hospital in Spain.
He reached the UK in 2015, the intensive care unit of Royal Brompton Hospital London having been forced to close for 11 days as a result of an outbreak.
In Australia, a Victorian man was diagnosed with the rare and dead superbug.
This is the first known case of C. auris in Victoria, prompting the authorities to adopt a "search and destroy" approach to prevent an epidemic.
The man over 70 probably contracted the infection when he was in a British hospital, said Victoria Deputy Public Health Officer Brett Sutton.
According to the department, superbug is the cause of serious blood infections and even death, "especially in hospitalized patients or in nursing homes with serious medical problems."
Dr. Johanna Rhodes, a specialist in infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said she had received a panicked appeal from the hospital, saying she could not get rid of the mushroom.
She told the New York Times, "We do not know where he comes from. We have never heard of it. It spreads like wildfire. "
Under his direction, workers sprayed a special chemical around the room used for a patient with C. auris and left for a week.
They put a plate with gel at the bottom of the room, and the only body that pushed back was C.auris.
But the newspaper reports that its spread was initially kept silent.
The hospital specialized in pneumology and pneumology alerted the British government and informed the infected patients, but made no public announcement.
Oliver Wilkinson, a spokesman for Royal Brompton, said, "It was not necessary to issue a press release during the outbreak."
The most recent figures released by Public Health England indicate that more than 200 patients from 20 NHS trusts in Britain have been infected with C.auris.
Dr. Colin Brown, Medical Microbiology Consultant for Public Health England's National Infection Service, said, "Candida auris is an unusual fungus in the UK and our enhanced surveillance shows a low risk for patients in institutions. health care.
"Most of the cases detected did not show any symptoms or developed an infection as a result of the fungus.
"PHE is working closely with the NHS to provide expert support and advice on infection control measures to limit the spread of Candida auris.
"NHS hospitals that have experienced outbreaks of Candida auris have not found it as a cause of death in any patient."
In the United States, 587 cases, mainly in New York, New Jersey and Illinois, prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to add C.auris to their "urgent threats" list.
A study published last year in the journal Emerging infectious diseases found 45% of patients died within 90 days of the diagnosis of the infection.
Nearly all samples from 51 patients in New York City were resistant to fluconazole, a commonly used antifungal drug.
WHAT IS CANDIDA AURIS?
Candia auris is a fungus that, when it enters the blood, can cause life-threatening and dangerous infections. Those most at risk are people with weakened immune systems, especially those who are already sick, the elderly and newborns. It was first identified in a patient in Japan in 2009. C.auris can be resistant to major antifungal drugs, which means that it can be fatal in some cases.
W This is a major health problem
It causes serious infections: C. auris can cause bloodstream infections and even death, especially in hospitalized patients and in nursing homes with serious medical problems. More than one in three patients with invasive C. auris infection (for example, an infection affecting the blood, heart or brain) dies.
It is often resistant to drugs: Antifungal medications commonly used to treat Candida infections often do not work for Candida auris. Some C. auris infections have been resistant to all three types of antifungal medications.
It's more and more common: Although C. auris was discovered only in 2009, it quickly spread and caused infections or outbreaks in facilities in more than a dozen countries.
It is difficult to identify: C. auris can be mistakenly identified as another type of fungus, unless using a specialized laboratory technology. This misidentification could lead a patient to receive the wrong treatment.
It can spread in hospitals and retirement homes: C. auris has caused epidemics in health facilities and can spread through contact with affected patients and contaminated surfaces or equipment. Good hand hygiene and good cleaning in health care facilities are essential because C. auris can live on the surfaces for several weeks.
This article was originally published on The Sun and has been reproduced with permission.
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