The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday warned that a deadly fungus called Candida auris (C. auris) is spreading at an "alarming rate" in the U.S. healthcare facilities.
“The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasizes the need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control,” said CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman, lead author of the paper, in a press release.
Adding to the agency's concerns, the number of infections that were resistant to echinocandins, which is the antifungal medicine most commonly used to treat C. auris infections, tripled in 2021.
The CDC classified C. auris as an "urgent antimicrobial resistance (AR) threat," meaning "it is often resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, spreads easily in healthcare facilities, and can cause severe infections with high death rates."
Between 2016, when C. auris was first reported, and 2021, there have been a total of 3,270 clinical cases reported and 7,413 screening cases.
The agency said "poor general infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in healthcare facilities" are responsible for the spread. However, expanded efforts to detect cases is also responsible for the jump in reported cases.
An elephant herd that made a yearlong journey into urbanized southwest China, raiding farms and even a retirement home for food, appears finally to be headed home.
Members of the U.S. military would be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Sept. 15, under a plan announced by the Pentagon on Monday and endorsed by President Joe Biden.
The space agency began taking applications Friday for four people to live in a simulated Mars habitat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Thick smoke that held down winds and temperatures has begun to clear from Northern California's scenic forestlands as firefighters battle the largest single wildfire in state history.
Canada is lifting its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, vacation or visit, but the United States is keeping similar restrictions in place for Canadians.
Earth is getting so hot that temperatures in about a decade will probably blow past a level of warming that world leaders have sought to prevent.
United Airlines will require U.S.-based employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by late October, and maybe sooner.
A wildfire raging in Northern California exploded in size overnight, becoming the third-largest wildfire in state history amid high temperatures and strong winds.
The U.S. men's track and field squad isn't looking so hot, Apple announces anti-child pornography measures on their iPhones, and the South Park boys get another big payday.
The White House will be requiring incoming travelers to the U.S. to be vaccinated., Gov. Cuomo is potentially looking at criminal charges, and Jeopardy! might be heading in a surprise direction for a new host.
