The drug-resistant fungus Candida auris (C. auris) was only discovered some 15 years ago but is already one of the world’s most feared hospital microbes.
If it gets inside the body, the yeast-type fungus can affect the bloodstream, the nervous system and several internal organs. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that its mortality rate ranges from 30% to 53% of patients affected by an invasive infection.
What is more worrisome is that the fungus has proven to be resistant to the most common types of antifungal drugs. Some strains are resistant to all of the medicines we have, says BBC’s health correspondent James Gallagher.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been outbreaks in more than 30 countries. A 2020 review from case reports from those nations found almost 4,750 cases globally between 2009 and 2019.
Read more at: www.bbc.com