Super-Resisters Striking NJ Hospitals and N.J. should be declared a public health emergency, says legislator

A US senator is calling on federal officials to declare a public health emergency over a potentially lethal fungus that is spreading to health facilities in New York and New Jersey, among other states.

Senator Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Called on the Centers for Disease Control to declare an emergency on the candida auris mushroom, which is resistant to drugs and can survive in health facilities. The fungus may also remain "colonized" or active in a patient for a long time, which may result in its spread in these hospitals, according to the CDC.

The CDC calls this a "serious global threat to health". According to her, the first cases in the United States began several years ago when people who had received health care abroad in an area affected by an epidemic had brought back strains.

The CDC has records of 613 cases across the country. More than half were in the New York area, followed by Chicago and New Jersey. The Garden State has 106 confirmed cases and 22 "probable" cases.

Those most at risk of getting the fungal infection are those who live in retirement homes or health facilities and have tubal bodies in their bodies, the CDC said. Those who are most likely to be fatal to people already facing other serious health problems.

Nicole Kirgan, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Health, told NJ Spotlight last month that hospitals were not required to report cases to state officials. She did not know which hospitals were affected or whether cases were fatal.

To declare candida auris an emergency would increase funding for awareness and testing, Schumer said.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.

Joe Brandt can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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