NewsDesk @bactiman63

The government of Pernambuco state, in northeast Brazil is reporting 36 people with confirmed cases of the drug resistant fungus, Candida auris, since the beginning of 2022 when the first case was reported in January.

Image/CDC

The cases are reported at two public hospitals–the Hospitals of Restauração (HR), in Recife and Miguel Arraes, in Paulista.

According to a G1 Globo report, the first case of the ‘superfungus’ was registered in January, in HR. In the same month, the Pernambuco Nursing Assistants and Technicians Union (Satenpe) asked the government, the Public Ministry (MPPE) and the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT), to interdict two rooms of the Trauma Unit of the emergency unit . This request was not granted.

This year, the State Department of Health (SES-PE) notified, in all, Of the 41 occurrences in the state network.

In addition to the 36 confirmations, four are still under investigation and one case has been discarded. The collected material was sent for analysis in a reference laboratory.

Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube

Candida auris is a type of yeast that can cause severe illness, particularly those suffering from serious medical conditions in hospitals and nursing homes. According to the US CDC, patients who have been hospitalized in a health care facility for long periods, have a central venous catheter or other lines or tubes entering their body, or have weakened immune systems are at highest risk of infection and serious complications. The risk of Candida auris infection to otherwise healthy people, including health care personnel, is extremely low.

The fungus can cause serious infections, including bloodstream infections and wound infections. It also has been isolated from respiratory and urine specimens and can colonize patients’ skin. A laboratory test is needed to determine whether a patient is colonized or infected with Candida auris, but laboratories should be aware that it can be misidentified as other types of fungi and should know when to suspect Candida auris, as misidentification could delay treatment and control measures.

Cuba’s first monkeypox case has died, Sepsis, multiple organ damage the cause of death

Brazil lifts registration requirements for monkeypox vaccines

Honduras reports dozens of mucormycosis in past year, Many associated to COVID-19

Brazil: 132,000 dengue fever cases reported in Paraná this season