Candida Auris UPSC Prelims
Source : The Hindu
GS II : Health; Prelims
Overview
- News in Brief
- About Candida Auris
- How can it be treated?
Why in News ?
Recently, Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus that was identified as a global threat was found in hospitalised stray dogs in Delhi.
News in Brief
- Live cultures of Candida auris, an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat.
- That is resistant to most antifungal agents, have been isolated and documented in the ear canals of hospitalised stray dogs in the capital.
- This fungal pathogen has been rated as an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Classified as a critical priority group by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
- The recent finding suggests pets could act as reservoirs for superbugs, potentially transmitting infections to humans.
About Candida Auris
- Candida auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant oval-shaped fungus causing life-threatening outbreaks, often in healthcare settings.
Representational Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash - Origin – First reported in Japan in 2009, C. auris has since spread all over the world.
- It grows as yeast and causes candidiasis in humans.
- The fungus is hard to identify with standard laboratory methods and can be misidentified in labs without specific technology.
- It has brought on ear infections, bloodstream infections, and wound infections.
- Although it has been identified from respiratory and urine samples as well, it is unknown if it is responsible for bladder or lung infections.
How can it be treated?
- A family of antifungal medications known as echinocandins can be used to treat the majority of C. auris infections.
- It is particularly challenging to treat certain C. auris infections since some of them have developed resistance to all three major types of antifungal drugs.
- To treat the infection in this case, it could be necessary to use many kinds of antifungals at large dosages.
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