The United States Center for Disease and Control (CDC) announced concerning information this week that there is a deadly fungus spreading throughout the country at a quick rate. Most alarming, is the claim that the fungus is “drug-resistant.”
The fungus is called Candida auris or C. auris and was detected in 2016 and “has spread more quickly thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic” according to the CDC’s website. Additionally, the drug-resistant fungus can cause bloodstream infections, wound infections, and ear infections.
Noted as an “urgent threat” says the CDC, because of its resistance to an antifungal medicine called echinocandins. The fungus is detected by testing bodily fluids, but it is apparently more difficult to distinguish from others, “making it challenging to diagnose and contain.”
The agency has said that the drug-resistant fungus is not threatening to healthy individuals but “can cause severe infections with high death rates.” Officials say it has spread in healthcare facilities with poor infection control and prevention plans.
According to officials at the CDC, one reason there has been an increase in case counts is that more individuals are currently choosing to get screened for the drug-resistant fungus than in 2016.
Following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, new research continues to find that Americans are increasingly physically and psychologically unhealthy because of the extreme lockdown policies.
During the lockdowns, rates of obesity and drug intake climbed among young Americans, leading to mental depression, suicide, and unhealthy lifestyles that affected their health against diseases.
“Nationwide, clinical cases rose from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021. Screening cases tripled from 2020 to 2021, for a total of 4,041. Screening is important to prevent spread by identifying patients carrying the fungus so that infection prevention controls can be used,” according to the CDC.