US Reports 1st Cases of Pan-Resistant Fungus Candida Auris

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The first-ever cases of a potentially deadly fungus resistant to all drugs, called Candida Auris, have been reported in care facilities in Texas and Washington, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday.

"Since January 2021 ... the Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network has detected independent clusters of pan-resistant or echinocandin-resistant cases in Texas and the District of Columbia (DC). Each cluster involved common health care encounters and no known previous echinocandin exposure, suggesting transmission of pan- and echinocandin-resistant strains for the first time in the United States", the CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The CDC has reported a total of 101 clinical and screening cases from January to April in Washington, including three pan-resistant isolates at one long-term care facility for severely ill patients. Twenty-two cases were detected in patients at medical institutions in Texas during the same period.

"No known epidemiologic links were identified between the Texas and DC clusters. No patients with pan- or echinocandin-resistant isolates in either cluster had received echinocandins before C. auris specimen collection. Thirty-day mortality in both outbreaks combined was 30%, but the relative contribution of C. auris was unclear", the report added.

The regulator noted there were no data on the most appropriate therapy for pan-resistant infections.

The fungus, first reported in Japan in 2009, is thought to live on the skin and inside the body, prompting immune system complications for those already in poor health. It has since caused outbreaks in hospitals in India, the UK, as well as in parts of Latin America, where it has displayed resistance to anti-fungal agents.