;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=1a96336bbe83a2c688e98dcc776df848b040aa10dcff16c2eb53f922ba156f7e "Candida Auris: The number of cases is also increasing in Germany")
The disease-causing fungus “Candida auris”, which is resistant to many drugs, continues to spread. It can be deadly, especially for people with weak immune systems. The World Health Organization classifies it as an “urgent threat”. As new data shows, the number of cases is now also increasing in Germany.
The pathogen Candida auris, which is one of the yeast fungi, was only discovered in 2009 – it seemed to appear out of nowhere and has been spreading ever since. Infection with this type of fungus can lead to a type of blood poisoning and severe organ damage, especially in immunocompromised people. In such patients, the death rate can be more than 30 percent, in part because the fungus is resistant to many common antifungal drugs.
Healthy people, on the other hand, can usually ward off an infection with Candida auris, which is why this pathogen becomes a threat, especially when outbreaks occur in hospitals or nursing homes. There, the fungus can spread quickly because, unlike other pathogenic fungal species, it can also be transmitted from person to person.
US disease agency CDC: “Urgent Threat”
Numerous such outbreaks have now been reported around the world, including in the UK, Spain and Italy. There was also a dramatic increase in cases in the USA in spring 2023. The US disease control agency CDC therefore classifies Candida auris as an “urgent threat”. (German: urgent threat) among multidrug-resistant pathogens – the highest risk category. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also classified the fungus species as one of only four pathogens with the highest priority.
But how is it in Germany? Alexander Aldejohann from the University of Würzburg and his colleagues have now determined this. To do this, they evaluated data from the National Reference Center for Invasive Fungal Infections (NRZMyk) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). They recorded and examined all cases of Candida auris infections that were known in Germany up to December 31, 2022.
The number of cases in Germany is low – but the trend is rising
The result: So far, the number of cases in Germany has been low – a total of only 43 infections with Candida auris are known. In 16 of these cases, the fungal infection was so severe that treatment was required, and in eight cases the fungus had already entered the bloodstream. “Compared to other European countries such as Spain, Italy or Great Britain, the number of cases is fortunately still low here,” says Aldejohann. “However, we have to do everything we can to ensure that it stays that way for as long as possible.”
Despite the few infections overall, the number of Candida auris infections has increased significantly in the last two years. In at least three cases, there was a nosocomial transmission – an infection in the doctor’s office or the hospital. In addition, 80 percent of the fungal strains isolated from patients in Germany were highly resistant to the common antifungal drug fluconazole. A fungal isolate had already developed resistance to the new antifungal drug echinocandin. “Our experience shows that any infection with Candida auris is difficult to treat and potentially life-threatening for patients,” says Aldejohann.
Acute need for action
According to the scientists, the increasing number of infections and the first human-to-human transmissions are an alarm signal. Therefore, despite the low number of cases so far, they recommend taking precautionary measures – also because the number of unreported cases is probably relatively high. “In view of the fact that we are already finding the first transmission events in Germany, I recommended that the Robert Koch Institute introduce a legal laboratory reporting requirement for the detection of Candida auris,” says co-author Oliver Kurzai from the University of Würzburg.
“In my view, this can be implemented with reasonable effort and, in addition to precise recording of the epidemiology, would enable infection control measures to be initiated at an early stage if there is evidence,” the microbiologist continues.
Source: Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg
Von Nadja Podbregar
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