There are some species of so-called superbugs that are resistant to all three types of antibiotics used to treat fungal infections.
US cases of the dangerous fungus have tripled in the past three years and more than halved, according to a new study.
The Covid-19 pandemic likely fueled this increase, according to a study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Hospital workers were stressed with coronavirus patients and likely turned their attention away from disinfectants to other types of seeds, they said.
The fungus, ear candida, is a type of yeast that is not usually harmful to healthy people, but can pose a life-threatening threat to delicate patients in hospitals and nursing homes. It creeps easily, and causes wound, ear, and bleeding disorders. There are some species of so-called superbugs that are resistant to all three types of antibiotics used to treat fungal infections.
It was first noted in Japan in 2009 and is increasingly seen in other countries. The first case in the United States was in 2013, but it was not reported until 2016. That year, US health officials reported 53 cases.
A new study found that cases continued to skyrocket from 476 in 2019 to 756 in 2020, and then to 1,471 in 2021. Doctors also detected a fungus on the skin of more than a thousand patients, making them a risk of transmission to other people.
Many of the first cases in the United States were imported infections, but now most infections are spread within the country, the authors noted.
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