A drug-resistant fungus is invading health care facilities, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is declaring it an urgent threat.
The fungus, Candida auris (C. auris), has been spreading since 2016 and is already resistant to several antifungal drugs. It’s spreading so fast that cases numbers tripled in just one year, 2020 to 2021.
C. auris is particularly dangerous in health care settings, where it can cause death in more than 1 in 3 patients. One reason the drug resistance is building so quickly is because so many antifungal medications are being overused in agricultural settings, according to Lance B. Price, professor of environmental and occupational health and the founder and co-director of the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at George Washington University.
SOURCE:
The Hearty Soul March 21, 2023