Cases of a deadly fungus have tripled in the U.S. from 2019 to 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Candida auris was first reported in the United States in 2016 and cases have increased since then.The number of annual clinical cases increased to 476 in 2019 and 756 in 2020, a 59% increase. . Since then, the number of cases he has increased to 1,471 in 2021, a further 95% increase.
Colonization screening of cases has also increased, the CDC researchers wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine. In 2020 he had 1,310 cases, up 21% from 2019, and in 2021 he had 4,041 cases, up 209%. From 2019 to 2021, there were a total of 3,270 clinical cases and 7,413 screened C. auris cases, with 17 states reporting their first cases.
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Deadly fungal cases in the United States tripled from 2019 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (iStock)
The CDC authors wrote that since its discovery in the United States, C. auris “continues to cause sickness and death nationwide.” They also said the CDC classifies it as an “urgent threat” of most concern because it is often multi-drug resistant. Spreads easily in medical facilities. It can cause serious invasive infections with high mortality. ”
Treatment-resistant cases increased from 6 pan-resistant and 3 echinocandin-resistant isolates reported in 2020 to 7 pan-resistant and 19 echinocandin-resistant isolates in 2021.
“Even this small increase is worrisome because echinocandins are the first-line therapy for invasive Candida infections and most C. auris infections,” the authors wrote. “Several new antifungal agents are being developed, but more research is needed to understand the outcomes of patients with these highly resistant strains and to guide treatment.”
“The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is alarming and calls for continued surveillance, expanded laboratory capacity, faster diagnostic testing, and faster diagnostic testing,” co-author Meghan Lyman said in a press release. and the need for adherence to proven infection prevention and control.”
His 2019 CDC report on the threat of antimicrobial resistance identified C. auris as an urgent threat in the United States.
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Candida auris was first reported in the United States in 2016, and cases have increased since then. (iStock)
And last year, the World Health Organization put it on its list of priority fungal pathogens.
A CDC data sheet, citing data from the number of patients listed, notes that 30% to 60% of those infected with C. auris died.
“I don’t know if it’s a patient with invasive C. Ear infections are more likely to die than patients with other invasive Candida infections,” the CDC writes.
The case appeared to have been imported from another country when it was first discovered. But these days, most, if not all, cases are due to medical infections, he said, the CDC author said.
“The greatest prevalence in the United States occurs in acute care facilities with high levels of acute care, particularly long-term acute care hospitals and ventilator facilities,” they wrote. Ear cases commonly occur in patients with multiple or long-term treatment or maintenance devices, including those on mechanical ventilation. ”
CDC researchers said C. auris has continued to cause illness and death nationwide since it was first detected. (REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo)
The current study may underestimate cases because screening resources have been limited, but the CDC has increased screening availability through the American Rescue Plan Act. Through the bill approved in 2021, screening capacity has risen from seven regional labs to more than 26 laboratories across the U.S.
“C. auris remains an ongoing health threat in the United States. Public health and healthcare facilities already have limited resources and IPC [infection prevention and control] capacity, and they experience further challenges with MDRO [multidrug-resistant organism] surveillance and prevention when those limited resources shift to fight other threats, such as the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors from the CDC wrote. “Still, mitigation and even regional containment are possible.”