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Over the past eight years, Indian medical and scientific circles have waged a hidden war against Candida Auris – a fungus that has developed antibiotic resistance.
Candida Auris (or C. auris, as it is sometimes called) is very contagious and resistant to antibiotics. The pathogen can be transmitted by contact. But affects people whose immune system is weakened, including those who use steroids or who suffer from viral infections, HIV, alcohol-induced liver problems and people who are recovering from surgery to hospital.
According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), several Canadian, American and French citizens infected with C. auris had returned home after being treated for unrelated problems in India.
Many infections have occurred in hospital ICUs, where studies have shown that the fungus can grow for more than 14 days on dry, wet, and plastic surfaces.
A survey of 27 ICUs in India between 2011 and 2012 found that 1,400 patients were infected with different types of candidemia, of which 74 (or 5.3%) had been infected with Candida Auris. The findings were published in 2017 in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy of Oxford University.
Dr. Arunaloke Chakrabarti, President of the International Society of Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM), who co-authored this paper, described C.auris to Deccan Herald as a "game changer of fungal disease" as it s & # 39, is a fungus that behaves like a mushroom. bacteria by rapidly gaining drug resistance, as bacteria do and because they have rapid transmissibility and are difficult to identify by commercial phenotypic systems, used by most laboratories.
In 2018, the number of C. auris isolates in India had risen to 243, according to meta-analyzes provided by the Aster CMI Hospital. Dr. Chakrabarti suggested another comprehensive survey to determine the actual number of cases.
Part of the growing prevalence of the fungus was due to the lack of awareness campaign and the general reluctance of private hospital staff to discuss the issue with the general public. However, when the increased resistance of fungi to antibiotics became evident, members of the scientific community tried to warn the world. Dr. Anuradha Chowdhary, from the Vallabhbhai Patel Thor Institute in Delhi, and former WHO consultant, was one of them.
"When we finally saw in 2012 that C.auris became resistant to antifungals, we tried to contact everyone," said Dr. Chowdhary. "They were not interested. Only after the outbreak of an epidemic in London in 2015 did people become aware of it. "
Dr. Chowdhary attributes the recent press articles to the United States and the CDC's emergency statement to alert the world of the problem.
The fungus, which has a mortality rate between 43 and 60%, an incubation period of less than 96 hours and can cause death within 30 days, is currently controlled by a combination of drugs, some of which may be ineffective near future.
Dr. Hemant H R, senior consultant in microbiology at Mazumdar Shaw Health Center, said that the fact that the fungus has not turned into a larger epidemic is a reason for encouragement.
"I am happy that C.auris has not proliferated – which means we are always in control. But the mushroom acquires immunity against several classes of drugs and two or three years later, who knows what could happen?
Dr. Arunaloke Chakrabarti: "Private hospitals do not get the message across, and the government really needs to step up its efforts to educate the public because C.auris is spreading like wildfire."
What is Candida Auris?
♦ Candida Auris is part of the candidaemia family of mushrooms, many of which live in the human body.
♦ The fungus can survive in the environment for up to three months.
♦ Although the fungus is impermeable to common household detergents, it is not resistant to antiseptics, including hydrogen peroxide and chlorhexidine. A simple wash with soap or alcohol can eliminate it.
♦ The first case was observed in Kolkata in 2011. The patient died as a result of the infection. Doctors unable to verify the origin of the pathogen.
♦ Some studies attribute the increased use of pesticides and the excessive use of antibiotics to the upsurge of diseases.
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