Candida Auris UPSC Prelims

IAS Current Affairs

1 year ago

Overview

Recently, Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus that was identified as a global threat was found in hospitalised stray dogs in Delhi.

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.

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.

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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