US health authorities have classified Candida Auris, a fungus that causes nosocomial infections, as a “serious global threat to public health”.
- If it does not constitute real risks for healthy people, Candida auris is dangerous especially for the most fragile patients, with a weakened immune system.
- On Monday March 20, the American health centers (CDC) issued a warning against this fungus considered an “urgent threat of antimicrobial resistance”.
- In Europe, between 2019 and 2021, 327 patients were affected in five countries, including France.
Candida auris ‘spreading at an alarming rate in US healthcare settings in 2020-2021’, alert the US federal public health agencies (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC). This species of yeast is a pathogenic fungus capable of resisting antifungal drugs and can cause a fungal infection, called candidiasis. Her name (auris means “ear” in Latin) comes from its origin since it was discovered during a sample taken from the ear canal of a patient.
Candida auris: what health risks?
If it does not constitute real risks for healthy people, candida auris proves to be dangerous especially for the most fragile patients, with a weakened immune system. In particular, it has already been the cause of several epidemics in hospitals. This is why some call it the “hospital killer”, because of the heart, blood or brain infections it can cause.
Most of the time, it is manifested by symptoms close to a flu with fever, severe fatigue and body aches. This fungus can pass from person to person through direct contact with someone who is infected or carries the fungus. But transmission can also occur following indirect contact via contaminated objects or certain surfaces (hospital sheets, handles, etc.).
United States: cases of infections have tripled
Monday, March 20, the American health centers (CDC) released a caution against this fungus considered as a “urgent threat of antimicrobial resistance”. According to CDC data, cases of infections tripled from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 cases in 2021. Meanwhile, carriers without reporting infections increased from 1,077 to 4,041 during the same period.
In Europe, between 2019 and 2021, 327 patients were affected in five countries including France (with Denmark, Germany, Greece and Italy) divided into 14 outbreaks (one outbreak corresponding to two or more cases with a epidemiological link), according to a study by Eurosurveillance. An increase in particular due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has weakened health systems around the world, but also to the increase in the detection of the germ and the lack of preventive measures.
Global warming could play a role in rising infections
In France, the High Council for Public Health had also published a report about him in July 2019 reporting the presence of six cases: “This yeast is difficult to identify in the laboratory, with the methods usually used for the identification of Candida. It persists in the environment and is characterized by decreased susceptibility to antifungals.” The HCSP warns of the danger linked to the spread of this fungus among vulnerable people: “Invasive infections are associated with a high case fatality rate, essentially attributable to the many comorbidities observed in infected or colonized patients.
A study published in the mBio in July 2019 established a link between its appearance and the rise in temperatures due to climate change. Although the majority of mushrooms are not resistant to the heat of the human body, the candida auris seems to be adapting very well to these new weather conditions and the higher mercury. According to the researchers, “This could be the first example of a new fungal disease emerging from climate change, with the caveat that many other factors may have contributed”.
