One case of fungus candida auris detected in a patient hospitalized in isolation at Chania Hospital. As the commander of the Chania General Hospital, George Beas, confirmed to zarpanews.gr, the case concerns a patient who was recently transferred to the Chania hospital from the Venizelio Hospital of Heraklion, after a long hospitalization there.

The patient was hospitalized in isolation from the first moment and in the cultures taken on the day of admission to the hospital, the specific fungus was detected.

The relevant protocol was immediately implemented and the prescribed measures have been taken with the instructions of the chairman of the infection committee.

Often, candidiasis, as a nosocomial infection, affects patients with a weakened immune system (immune deficiency).

The dramatic increase in infections from the drug-resistant Candida auris fungus has been labeled an “urgent threat” since last March by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as more than half of US states now report outbreaks.

Candida auris (C. auris) was first recorded in Japan in 2009, while the first known infections in the US date back to 2013. Cases have increased exponentially through the end of 2021, according to a paper published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine . The CDC reported that last year there were 2,377 reported clinical diagnoses and 5,754 cases detected through screening.

Arturo Casadevall, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health who studies how fungi cause disease, told Bloomberg that signs of the fungus’ continued spread are “a harbinger of a scary future.”

Late last year, the World Health Organization published its first list of “priority fungal pathogens,” including Candida auris.

“Fungal pathogens are a major threat to public health as they become increasingly resistant to treatment with four classes of antifungal drugs currently available,” says the WHO.

Here’s everything we need to know about him Candida aurisas reported by Bloomberg:

How does one get stuck?

Most cases of the fungus have been reported in healthcare settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes. It is generally thought to be spread through contact with contaminated surfaces or through person-to-person transmission.

What does the fungus do to the body?

There are two ways Candida auris can affect the body. Either living in a specific area, such as the skin, rectum or mouth, in a process called “asymptomatic colonization”, where the patient has no symptoms but can transmit it to other people.

Or it can enter the bloodstream or wounds, where it can cause serious infections.

What are the symptoms of Candida auris?

The most common symptoms include fever and chills that do not go away after treatment with antibiotics. But diagnosis is difficult, as many other common diseases share these symptoms. For this reason, wrong diagnosis often leads to wrong treatment. Correct diagnosis often requires sending a blood sample or a sample from the site of infection to a specialized laboratory to definitively confirm the presence of the fungus.

Is it deadly?

Yes, but the statistics are unclear. The CDC puts the fatality rate at 30-60%, based on information from a limited number of patients, but notes that many of the victims had other serious illnesses that may have increased the risk of death.

Can Candida auris be treated with medication?

While most fungal infections are treated using antifungal drugs known as echinocandins, scientists have been alarmed by the increasing number of cases that are resistant to the three main classes of antifungals available.

This means that doctors must combine many types of drugs at high doses to treat patients, with varying degrees of success each time.

Who is most at risk?

According to the CDC, people who already have other medical conditions are often more vulnerable to the fungus, as well as those who have stayed in healthcare settings, such as nursing homes or intensive care units.

Invasive devices such as breathing tubes that enter the body can become foci of infection.

Other factors that can make someone vulnerable include recent surgery, conditions such as diabetes, and widespread use of antibiotics and antifungals.

It should be noted that the infection has been identified in all age groups.