There Candida auris it presents, in fact, some peculiarities capable of giving rise to serious concern, so much so that the experts of the CDC (Centers for Disease Prevention and Control) have defined it as a "serious threat to global health". Among the various characteristics, in fact, this "new" pathogen has proven resistant to the main categories of antifungals, persists for a long time in the environment, is difficult to eradicate and bloodstream infection is fatal for half of patients within 90 days.
So far, the Candida auris it has caused (fortunately) sporadic episodes and epidemics in the hospital setting, but it remains a special observation and joins the ranks of microorganisms that could seriously threaten world health within a few decades.
(or yeast) first described in 2009, also called:
- Super fungus, as it is incredibly resistant to the main categories of antifungal drugs, usually used to eradicate fungal infections
or
- Killer fungus, as it is highly lethal (for now) in the most fragile patients.
"Auris" comes from the Latin "ear", a name attributed to having been isolated from the external auditory canal of a 70-year-old woman admitted to a Japanese hospital. Since its identification, doctors have begun to register new cases of infection with Candida auris all over the world, from the United States to Kenya, from India to Venezuela, from Australia to Europe.
In Italy, the first case of invasive infection with C. auris was identified in 2019.
