The US states hardest hit by the deadly fungus Candida auris have been revealed on an interactive map from DailyMail.com.
It shows how the microscopic strain of yeast, also known as cauris, has been detected in more than half of US states since it first appeared in the US in 2016.
The highest numbers are in the country’s large coastal cities. New York state has been the hardest hit with 1,325 cases since 2016, followed by Illinois with 1,044 cases and California with 813 cases.
Next is Florida, which recorded 683 cases, New Jersey (419) and Nevada (408) based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2013 and 2022.
It comes after health officials issued a warning about Cauris on Monday, saying the hospital-acquired infection had tripled in the past year and had become resistant to several drugs.
Cauris infections have increased recently, with US cases rising from 1,310 in 2020 to 4,041 in 2021. There were 5,754 cases last year.
The CDC doesn’t keep track of how many people have died from cauris, and it can be difficult to know whether patients have died from the fungus because it usually infects people who are already very sick.
CDC data shows that by 2021, fungal infections will cause 7,000 deaths in the US and 1.5 million worldwide.
The states with the most hospitals are the hardest hit – the breeding ground for Cauris.
The fungus does not form germ tubes and is rarely found in nature.
Most transmissions occur in health care settings, particularly among residents of long-term care facilities or those with internal devices — such as catheters, tracheostomies or wound drains — or on mechanical ventilators.
Healthy people usually do not get sick, but in the weak and vulnerable it kills up to 60 percent.
People contract the cauris by touching an infected person. Cauris can also be transmitted by touching contaminated surfaces or equipment, where it can survive for weeks.
The highest numbers are in the country’s large coastal cities. New York state has been the hardest hit with 1,325 cases since 2016, followed by Illinois with 1,044 cases and California with 813 cases. Next are Florida, which recorded 683 cases, New Jersey (419) and Nevada (408) based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2013 and 2022
Cauris is a microscopic strain of yeast that is now found in more than half of the US states
Most transmissions of cauris occur in health care settings, particularly among residents of long-term care facilities or among residents on home appliances or mechanical ventilators
Cauris can also live on the skin or other parts of the body such as the ear or wounds without causing an active infection and making you sick.
However, in some patients, the fungus can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body, leading to potentially fatal invasive cauris infections, such as in the blood or internal organs.
This usually occurs when a medical device is inserted into the skin or digestive tract, e.g. B. a catheter or an infusion.
The fungus kills more than one in three people with invasive cauris.
Cauris appeared simultaneously in hospitals in India, South Africa and South America more than a decade ago. The researchers don’t know why, but speculate that climate change may have played a role.
Fungi normally cannot tolerate the warmer temperature of the human body, but scientists think cauris may have adapted to survive in a hot climate.
Another deadly fungal infection, Valley Fever, is spreading in the United States
Cases of valley fever have increased twentyfold since the turn of the century.
The spreading fungus is eerily similar to the HBO hit series The Last of Us, in which a real-life cordyceps fungus evolved to infect people, control their minds and turn them into bloodthirsty zombies who watch vines explode from their bodies. body and infect others.
Three years after the fungus was first reported in the US, the CDC gave the fungus its highest concern because it is often multi-drug resistant, easily transmissible in healthcare settings, and can cause serious infections with high mortality rates.
Cases more than tripled in the US between 2020 and 2021, with multidrug-resistant strains also becoming more common. Six states reported their first case of cauris in 2022.
The map shows how 36 states have reported cases of the fungus since it was discovered in the US in 2016.
Last year, Louisiana, New Mexico, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Delaware and Hawaii reported their first cases of cauris.
Many of the early cases of cauris in the US were imported from abroad, but most cases in recent years have been due to local transmission.
Three states — Oregon, Minnesota and Michigan — all reported their first case of the fungus in 2021.
Meanwhile, areas with previous cases of limited spread, such as California, Texas and Florida, have seen new and increasing transmissions in recent years.
The main symptoms of the fungus are fever and chills that do not improve. The fungus can cause many different types of infections, e.g. B. in the bloodstream, in wounds or ears.
Transmission was largely caused by a lack of infection prevention and control in hospitals.
The number of cases of the fungus, which is resistant to the antibiotic echinocandin, has also risen – in 2021 there were about three times as many cases as in the two previous years.
The antifungal agent echinocandin is the first line of therapy for the treatment of cauris.
The World Health Organization has warned that fungal infections are becoming a “major threat” to public health.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
