Outbreak of treatment-resistant deadly fungus detected in US

U.S. authorities have recorded outbreaks of infection with a deadly fungus that is resistant to all drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States.

Candida auris is a deadly and difficult-to-treat fungal infection that spreads through American nursing homes and hospitals. it affects immunocompromised patients. It was originally discovered in Japan in 2009.

From January to April 2021, more than 120 cases of infection with the fungus were identified. However, according to the CDC, for the first time in five cases of Candida auris, experts have encountered a pan-resistant variant of the fungus. The untreatable infection was found in medical facilities in Texas (three cases) and Washington (two).

Nearly a third of Candida auris-infected patients died within 30 days, according to the CDC. However, the dead were already seriously ill, and it is not clear whether their death was caused by a fungus, experts said.