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from the This-fungus-is-not-very-fun,-Gus. dept.
A lethal and drug-resistant fungal infection is beginning to creep into the United States. Healthcare facilities are at risk:
Thirteen individuals have become ill from a serious and sometimes fatal fungal infection previously unseen in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. The fungus, Candida auris, is known to occur in health care settings such as hospitals and nursing homes. Seven cases occurred between May 2013 and August 2016 in four states: Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. As of August 31, four of these seven patients, all with bloodstream infections, died, though it is unclear whether their deaths were due to C. auris. The remaining six cases were identified after August and are still under investigation. "It appears that C. auris arrived in the United States only in the past few years," Dr. Tom Chiller, chief of the CDC's Mycotic Diseases Branch, said in statement. He added that scientists are working to better understand the fungus so they can develop recommendations to protect those at risk.
C. auris bloodstream infections have a 50% fatality rate in some countries, according to one study. Some strains of this yeast are multidrug-resistant and cannot be treated by the three major classes of antifungal medications. First reported in 2009 in Japan, cases have been recorded in South Korea, India, South Africa, Kuwait, Colombia, Venezuela, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. "Experience outside the United States suggests that C. auris has high potential to cause outbreaks in healthcare facilities," the CDC notes on its website. Importantly, this deadly organism is difficult to identify using traditional laboratory biochemical methods.
CDC's Candida auris page; CDC's report on these first seven cases.
(Score: 2, Troll) by aristarchus on Monday November 07 2016, @06:48PM
Why, thank you, AC! Very gracious of you! Good teachers will tell students that there is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers. Your response clarifies much, and so is greatly appreciated. Still not sure if I see the catastrophe, however. Shirley you are aware that pneumonia is sometimes referred to as "the old man's friend"?
OH, never quite sure if I've got that right, "stupid answers" or "stupid people". I tend to not drown in the rain by not looking skyward with my mouth agape, as domestic turkeys are wont to do. What's your trick?
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by khallow on Monday November 07 2016, @06:58PM
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Monday November 07 2016, @07:42PM
khallow, just curious, why do you always miss the point so badly? Is it the altitude?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday November 07 2016, @10:36PM
(Score: 3, Funny) by aristarchus on Tuesday November 08 2016, @04:34AM
So, not the altitude, just the attitude? You have been taking some hard hits here lately, khallow, so I want you to know that you are a valued member of the team. Just let go of the whole climate-denier thing, OK?