Alarm in Europe’s health systems has been marked by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for rapid spread in the Epirus Hospitals of Candidozyma Auris fatal fungus, warning that it is a serious threat to patients.

According to ECDC, the fungus Candidozyma Auris (C. Auris, formerly Candida Auris) is a danger to patients in hospitals across Europe due to its ability to cause serious infections to patients in critical condition, its potential resistance to various antifungal, Transmission and outbursts in healthcare environments.

According to ECDC, fungus C. Auris is particularly dangerous for people who are already ill, while mortality rates ranging from 29% to 62%.

As the 2024 survey carried out by the ECDC for the fungus reveals, the spread of C. Auris is rapid. Between 2013 and 2023, a total of 4,012 cases of colonization or contamination by C. Auris were reported by countries of the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA). The five countries with the highest number of C. Auris cases were Spain, Greece, Italy, Romania and Germany.

However, according to the survey, from 2020 onwards the number of cases has increased, reaching 2023 the 1,346 cases from 18 EU/EEA countries.

The ECDC even warns despite the rapid increase, the number of recorded cases is only the tip of the iceberg, as there is no systematic surveillance in many countries. While ECDC’s previous three investigations on C. Auris were confined to EU/EEA countries, EU enlargement countries, the Western Balkans, and Turkey, were also invited to participate in the C. Auris survey of 2024. Turkey, Kosovo and Bosnia and Bosnia.

ECDC’s survey reveals that the C. Auris three countries (Cyprus, France and Germany) have recently reported rise, while four countries (Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain) said it was no longer possible to record individual cases due to regional.

According to the survey, the period between the recording of the first case in the country to the regional endemic according to the ECDC staging system was between five and seven years for Greece, Italy and Spain, which shows how quickly the fungus C. Auris can spread through hospital networks.

The picture in Greece

The first case of C. Auris reported in Greece in 2019, while increasing number of cases were reported during the Covid-19 pandemic and epidemics reported by various hospitals.

When an ECDC step visited Greece in April 2024, the fungus C. Auris had spread throughout the healthcare system, with hundreds of cases located in various hospitals.

A rehabilitation unit visited by ECDC had received such a large number of patients who had already been colonized or contaminated by C. Auris by hospitals that it was necessary to provide a special chamber for their care.

High the risk of spreading

The ECDC stresses that the rapid spread of C. Auris is causing serious concern and indicates a high risk of continuing continuing spread to all European healthcare systems.

This is because with the increase in C. Auris cases and its broad geographical distribution, sustainable control will become more difficult.

Research on C. Auris of 2024 has also shown that there are still gaps in the readiness of the countries, in particular with regard to national surveillance systems and instructions for prevention and infections prevention and control measures (IPC).

Isolation of patients in single rooms and the disinfection of the equipment can help reduce spread. The ECDC cites Denmark as an example of the countries that have restricted the fungus, having controlled a rise that has been presented and has not since reported the recording of new outbreaks.

However, many countries have significant gaps in their reaction. Of the 36 countries involved in the ECDC survey, only 17 have national surveillance systems for C. Auris and only 15 have issued specific infections.