Deadly fungus C auris is rising in the US - here are the signs trends now
Microscopic yeast strain Candida auris, also known as C auris, has been detected in over half of American states since first emerging in the US in 2016.
Health officials issued a warning about the fungus on Monday, flagging that the hospital infection had tripled in recent years and grown resistant to multiple drugs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already described the infection, which kills up to 60 percent of people it infects, as an 'urgent threat' in 2019.
Symptoms of the fungus may not be noticeable because patients with C auris are usually already ill with another serious condition and often in hospital.
Most transmission occurs in healthcare facilities, especially among residents of long-term care facilities or among persons with indwelling devices - such as catheters, tracheostomies, or wound drains - or on mechanical ventilators.
Fever and chillsSymptoms depend on the infected body part, but the most common sign seen in patients with Candida auris is persistent fever and chills.
A fever is defined as a temporary increase in average body temperature above 99°F to 99.5°F. But with a C auris infection, the higher temperature will not go away.
The most frequently seen sign in patients with Candida auris is a persistent fever and chills
Chills are the body's way of raising its core temperature through shivering.
Fever and chills are the most common symptoms for bloodstream infections from C auris. Bloodstream infections can also cause confusion and disorientation.
C auris can also live on the skin or other parts of the body such as the ear or wounds without causing an active infection and making you ill.
But in some patients, the fungus can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body, resulting in potentially fatal invasive C auris infections such as in the blood or internal organs.
This usually occurs when a medical device is inserted into the skin or gastrointestinal tract, such as a catheter or an IV.
Antibiotics not workingAnother telltale sign of C auris is that the fever and chills cannot be treated with antibiotics for a suspected bacterial infection.
Antifungals medication may also be ineffective. Some C auris infections have been resistant to all three types of antifungal medications: azoles, echinocandins, and amphotericin B. Echinocandins are the first line of therapy given to treat C auris.
Both antibiotics and antifungals medication may be ineffective against C auris infections
Multidrug-resistant strains of C auris have become more common in recent years.
Research by the CDC found that cases of the fungus resistant to echinocandin had also risen — in 2021 there was about three times the number of cases than in each of the previous two years.
Ear infectionIf the C auris fungus has reached the ear, patients may have a sharp or dull pain in the ear canal.
There may be a sense of 'fullness' in the ears and impaired hearing due to muffling. Drainage and nausea may also occur.
Patients may lose partial functioning of their ears if a C auris infection takes hold in the ear canal
The first case of C auris was found in the ear discharge of a 70-year-old female inpatient at Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital in Japan in
