Deaths fuel fears of an outbreak of Candida auris that can resist many, or all, medications; no reports of pan-resistant C. auris in New Jersey
Jon Hurdle reports for NJ Spotlight
Two patients who died in New York City hospitals within the last month were confirmed as the nation’s first cases of a kind of fungus that’s resistant to all classes of anti-fungal medication, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
It’s unclear whether the “pan-resistant” strain of the Candida auris fungus was the cause of their deaths, or whether they were caused by unrelated infections, but the appearance of the new strain in the United States has fueled fears about the recent spread of a fungus that can survive many kinds of medications.
In New Jersey, there have been no reports of pan-resistant C. auris so far but 115 cases of other strains of the fungus have been confirmed — representing an increase of 11 cases since the end of February, said Nicole Kirgan, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Health. In addition, there are currently 22 “probable” cases, she said.
CDCA strain of Candida auris cultured in a petri dish
In the current outbreak of C. auris, most cases have been in New York, New Jersey and Illinois, according to the CDC which reported a total of 587 cases nationwide by February 28. In New York, 309 cases were confirmed by the end of February, according to the CDC.
Kirgan declined to say whether any of the New Jersey patients have died from the fungus, noting that many are already weakened by other conditions that required hospitalization to begin with.
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