'Urgent threat' of highly contagious FUNGUS that has a kill rate of 60% and is ... trends now
An influential US medical panel is warning about the dangers of a rapidly spreading deadly fungus — just a week after the hit zombie show The Last of Us wrapped up.
The American College of Physicians (ACAP) said the rise and spread of antibiotic-resistant cases of Candida auris, also known as C auris, is 'particularly concerning'.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already described the fungus, which kills up to 60 percent of people it infects, as an 'urgent threat' in 2019.
But the new research has revealed case numbers more than tripled across America between 2020 and 2021, with antibiotic resistant strains also becoming more common.
Most cases are among hospital patients but the ACAP said even a subtle increase in antibiotic-resistant cases is 'concerning' because 'echinocandins are the first-line therapy for invasive Candida infections and most C auris infections'.
The number of clinical and screening C auris cases reported to the CDC between 2013 and 2021
The distribution of C auris cases across the US as reported to the CDC between 2013 and 2021
Increased attention has been placed on fungal infections because of the hit HBO show 'The Last of Us', which involved cordyceps that had evolved to infect people, control their minds and turn them into bloodthirsty zombies that see vines explode out of their bodies and can infect others.
The World Health Organization warns that fungal infections are becoming a 'major threat' to public health.
Some experts claim fungi are becoming more common worldwide as the changing climate makes environments more suitable for them.
The latest study, carried out by researchers from the CDC, looked at confirmed and probable cases reported to state and local health departments and the CDC between 2016 and 2021.
They found infections rose from 1,310 in 2020 to 4,041 in 2021.
CDC data shows fungal infections have already caused 7,000 deaths in the US — and 1.5million worldwide, in 2021.
And the latest data shows the increase in C auris cases are not letting up, with 2,377 clinical cases and 5,754 screening cases last year.
The study also found that cases of the fungus resistant to the antibiotic echinocandin had also risen — in 2021 there was about three times the number of cases than in each of the previous two
