Candida auris, the superbug that’s been circulating throughout the country, is no stranger to Northern Virginia health officials, but they say there are a few simple steps you can take to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Cases of the fungus known as Candida auris tripled — from 476 to 1,471 — between 2019 and 2021, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were nearly 2,400 cases last year. The fungus can enter the bloodstream and cause “invasive infections.”
A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds that there are now cases in over half the states in the U.S., The Associated Press reported.
Virginia is no exception, said Shaina Bernard, the antimicrobial resistance coordinator for the Virginia Department of Health’s Healthcare-Associated Infections Program: There were 21 cases in the commonwealth in January and February, and she says that’s “similar to increases in cases nationwide.”
It’s not a new problem. Bernard says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified it as an “urgent threat” in 2019. It’s believed that the COVID-19 pandemic, and the stress it put on health care professionals and facilities, has driven the increase.
The CDC said C. auris “often does not respond to commonly used antifungal drugs, making infections difficult to treat.”
Who’s at risk?
Bernard, who works in the health department’s Office of Epidemiology, says C. auris is a yeast that’s not harmful to most people, but it can really do damage to people with certain medical conditions, and especially in health care facilities.
“It often affects people who have had frequent hospital stays or live in nursing homes,” Bernard says.
She adds that it can also affect people with weakened immune systems from blood cancers or diabetes, or those who take lots of antibiotics. People with lots of tubes going into their bodies on a regular basis are at risk.
“To date, most cases in Virginia have been identified in long-term care facilities,” Bernard says, especially long-term acute care hospitals and nursing homes with ventilator capabilities.
It doesn’t spread the same way a virus does, but that means you can be carrying it around on your skin without realizing it.
Wash your hands
The most important things you can do to protect yourself and your family are the simple ones, Bernard says: Wash your hands before and after you touch a patient or a medical device, especially if you’re taking care of more than one person.
If you have a relative in a facility, make sure the staff washes their hands frequently as well. The Department of Health this month warned doctors about the risks and reminded medical professionals of the importance of hand hygiene.
Bernard says you should also make sure you only take antibiotics and antifungal medications as prescribed.
Feature image courtesy stock.adobe.com
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