Candida Auris: Highly Fatal Fungus, Is It Treatable? New Drug Was Discovered

Candida auris was recently reported of having infected about three dozen individuals in the United States. It is a deadly fungal that was known for being resistant to known antibiotics.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Candida auris is a superbug and a serious worldwide health threat. Some strains of this fungus are resistant to all three major classes of antifungal medication.

Candida auris can be spread from one patient to another in the hospitals and can also be found on equipment’s surfaces of healthcare facilities. Some patients could suffer from serious invasive infections when this yeast enters their bloodstream and spread all over the body.

This fungi specie is also a highly fatal condition since 60 percent of sufferers could die. Most of these patients had other serious underlying diseases apart from Candida auris infection.

Out of 35 documented cases of Candida auris infection in the U.S., 28 were reported in the state of New York. This was based on the fact sheet of CDC from May 2013 to January 2017.

There are additional 18 suspected cases of Candida auris infection. But these are still to be confirmed since the patients didn't yet experience the typical symptoms of the infection.

Furthermore, CDC noted that the fungus could be misidentified using conventional laboratory techniques. Consequently, infection’s spread is difficult to control in the hospital settings.

Meanwhile, a new drug was found against Candida auris infection, ReliaWire reported. Microbiologists’ team from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine discovered the latest information about the fungus being a drug resistance and its other features.

The study detected that the investigational drug codenamed SCY-078 could help in suppressing Candida auris. However, there's still no solid evidence that the drug could totally resist the bug.

Fortunately, the drug was proven to be effective against other strains of Candida such as Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis both associated with catheter-related infections.