Drug-resistant super black fungus 'global health threat' is spreading wildly

31 March 2023 , 16:35

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The Candida auris fungus growing in a petri dish (Image: Shawn Lockhart/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Drug resistant deadly black fungus Candida auris has spread to over half of US states, with scientists left baffled about how to tackle it.

The Candida auris fungus targets predominately elderly people with weakened immune systems but is also dangerous as it resists treatment by common anti-fungal medications. C. auris.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have described the alarming spread as "a serious global health threat".

Although most cases recorded just involve the patient's skin being 'colonised' by the virus and them not falling sick, if an infection occurs through "surgical wounds or the blood from an intravenous line" the patient will likely die.

The mortality rate for infected patients is a terrifying 30 to 60 per cent.

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Drug-resistant super black fungus 'global health threat' is spreading wildly

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study on the fungus showed grim reading (Annals of Internal Medicine)

As part of their efforts to tackle the spread of the virus the CDC have mapped where the cases are appearing in the US.

This alarming map shows cases have appeared in 28 of the 50 states with some badly hit regions such as Nevada, California and Florida seeing hundreds.

Here is the number of cases detected throughout 2022 for each state:

Nevada	384
California	359
Florida	349
New York	326
Illinois	276
Texas	160
New Jersey	94
Indiana	87
Ohio	79
Maryland	46
Virginia	40
Michigan	33
Pennsylvania	33
Kentucky	22
District Of Columbia	19
Arizona	17
Georgia	12
Louisiana	10
Tennessee	8
Alabama	6
Delaware	5
Mississippi	5
Massachusetts	2
Colorado	1
Hawaii	1
Minnesota	1
New Mexico	1
Wisconsin	1

This fungus does not respond to commonly used antifungal drugs, making infections difficult to treat.

The CDC said: "In the United States, most cases of C. auris result from local spread within and among healthcare facilities in the same city or state."

The number of cases spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nearly half of patients who contract C. auris die within 90 days, according to The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Annals of Internal Medicine map shows the fungus has increased across different states (Annals of Internal Medicine)

During the Covid pandemic local health officials reported 1,474 clinical cases of the fungus which is nearly a 200% increase from the 500 cases reported in 2019.

From 2018 to 2019, cases rose by 44% from 330 to 476, then by 59% to 756 in 2020.

There was another 95% rise reported, increasing to 1,471 cases in 2021.

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Researchers at The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it represented a "dramatic increase" in transmissions of C. auris.

A computer illustration of the fungus (Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)

Dr Meghan Lyman, a medical officer in the CDC, told The New York Times it does not know how many deaths were attributed to the fungus as patients are often dealing with other health conditions.

Health officials believe the Covid pandemic helped spread the fungus as screening for C. auris fell whilst concentration was limited to stopping the virus.

Donald Vinh, a medical professor at McGill University in Montreal, warned that a warming planet could lead to the evolution of new types of diseases as fungi adapt and expand their location, leading to more infections.

Patients become more susceptible to fungal infections and fungi become more resilient, making antifungal drugs less efficacious, a medical professor has said, describing how a dystopian scene such as those in the hit HBO TV show 'The Last of Us' could one day become reality.

The HBO show, which is based on a video game, features zombies infected with a real parasitic fungus called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis that can take over the brains and bodies of insects, turning them into real-life zombies.