MLive\u2019s prior reporting on the fungus<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhat is C. auris?<\/p>\n
C. auris is a type of yeast that can spread easily among sick patients in health care facilities. It\u2019s often resistant to antifungal medications, which makes it difficult to treat.<\/p>\n
The organism can remain on surfaces in health care facilities for extended periods and a person may be carrying it without any symptoms.<\/p>\n
Where is the fungus spreading? <\/p>\n
The city of Detroit has reported 1,353 cases since 2021. That\u2019s 60% of the state\u2019s known cases. <\/p>\n
Beyond Wayne County, 15 other counties have identified at least one case. They include: Bay, Calhoun, Gratiot, Genesee, Ingham, Jackson, Kent, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Midland, Oakland, Ogemaw, Saginaw and Washtenaw. <\/p>\n
Who is at risk? <\/p>\n
People most at risk of being sickened by C. auris typically have severe underlying conditions. They\u2019re especially vulnerable if they\u2019re in need of complex medical care, like the use of breathing and feeding tubes and catheters, which can create pathways for C. auris to get into the body.<\/p>\n
Despite a mortality rate of 30% or greater, the state said it\u2019s unable to track C. auris deaths. Patients who die after infection typically have multiple underlying conditions and are medically complicated. <\/p>\n
Medical examiners don\u2019t have a specific code to classify a death as caused by C. auris, according to the state health department, making tracking the death toll impossible. <\/p>\n
How serious is the threat?<\/p>\n
The fungus can survive on surfaces for weeks, making it difficult to eliminate from hospital surfaces. It can also survive some commonly used disinfectants, according to the CDC. <\/p>\n
Patients can carry the fungus on their skin without any sign of infection for months, and spread it to others unknowingly. Outbreaks can occur when an infected patient is transferred from one facility to another. <\/p>\n
Most strains are resistant to at least one type of antifungal medicine, and some strains are resistant to all three available treatments.<\/p>\n
C. auris has received the CDC\u2019s highest level of concern — urgent antimicrobial resistance threat — due to its ability to resist multiple drugs, spread rapidly in health care facilities, and cause outbreaks, according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). <\/p>\n
State health officials say they have implemented surveillance and preventative activities for health care facilities. The state has hosted webinars to inform and assist health care facilities manage patients and take precautions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michigan hospitals have noted a rise in a drug-resistant fungal infection in recent years. Candida auris was first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344501,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[172381,97,252,253],"class_list":{"0":"post-344500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-covidunit","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-care","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}