The drug-resistant Candida auris fungus is a problem, but do not panic for the moment

There have been a lot of recent headlines about a deadly, drug-resistant strain of fungi the CDC has called a "serious global threat to health". But do not panic – again.

The New York Times reporter who broke the story of his generalization Candida auris was informed Thursday of "CBS This Morning" that although this is a problem that deserves serious attention, especially in hospitals, it does not yet pose a threat to the general public.

"The likely people are those with weakened immune systems, disabled people, elderly people in hospitals," Richtel said. "So let me put the point as thin as possible on this: the general public walking on the street [is] will not be shot by that. You're not going to walk him to Walmart. You are not going to get it at your place. "

Richtel, who is also the author of a book on the immune system titled "An Elegant Defense," discovered two cases of what is called pan-resistant Candida auris in New York – insensitive to all known medications. Nearly 600 cases of Candida auris have been reported in the United States in recent years. It spreads in health facilities such as hospitals.

For her latest article on Candida Auris, Richtel met the family of a 64-year-old Chicago woman who died months after contracting the fungus. What he wants people to understand is that it fits into a much broader conversation about increase of drug-resistant bacteria.

"What they should know, is that this virus, this germ, raises stakes in the problem of drug-resistant infections," said Richtel. "It's a new seed that's mysteriously lifted." And what they should know, is that it's starting to spread to hospitals all over the world, and especially in the United States, New York, New Jersey and Illinois. "

Candida auris was identified for the first time in 2009 and seen for the first time in the United States in 2013. More than 300 of the nearly 600 cases reported in the United States occurred in New York State. Richtel's stories focused not only on the risks of the infection itself, but also on the secrecy climate that surrounds it. He hopes hospitals will be more transparent.

"One of the issues we've been focusing on in the series we're launching in the Times is the level – and that's a bit strong word – the secret, the denial, the privacy. Not just hospitals, governments, federal governments around the world, nobody wants to be seen as a hub of infection, it's terrifying to give the impression that you are a source of the drug resistance virus. " did he declare.

But if you are in the hospital, there are ways to protect yourself.

"I think the most basic thing you can do is practice to feel able to ask: do you take infection control measures, wash your hands, do what you need to do? to isolate patients who are sick? " Richtel reiterated that only immunocompromised patients are at risk.

Richtel also explained why he resists the use of the term "superbug. "

"It's a reality, it's a real source of long-term nervousness in our society, but if we call it a super-bacterium, we create such a hysteria, which suggests that everyone will die of apocalyptic way and become numb by the real problem.So, I think about it in the terms it is, a scary thing but something we can do. "