Candida Auris. In recent days, the first infection in Italy in 2023 due to the “killer” fungus was ascertained in Pisa. Diagnosed at the hospital of Cisanello, as reported by the newspaper La Nazione, the infection would be under control, as reported by Marco Falcone, director of the Infectious Diseases Operating Unit of the Pisan hospital. What is it about? what are the symptoms?
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Candida Auris, what is it
Although it was isolated for the first time in some samples collected in Korea in 1996, Candida Auris was recognized and “discovered” just over 10 years ago. In 2009, the fungus was isolated from the ear canal (hence the word auris or “ear” in Latin) of a seventy-year-old patient in Japan. Then the “killer mushroom” would have arrived in Europe in 2015 with some cases in France. While under control, the spread has increased in recent years, and in 2021 alone, the United States reported more than 3,700 cases. Due to the high resistance to antifungal agents, theOms decided to include the fungus in the category of “critical priority pathogenic fungi” recommending a greater investment of resources in research.
Symptoms
Candida auris is a yeast fungus, a yeast, which can cause various forms of candidiasis, but unlike other types of Candida it can be highly dangerous for humans. The term “Auris” derives from the Latin “ear”, a name attributed to having been isolated from the external auditory canal of the first patient. The fungus has worrying characteristics: it is resistant to the main categories of antifungals (which has earned it the name of super-fungus), it persists for a long time in the environment, making it difficult to eradicate, sometimes causing infections that can be lethal for patients. Symptoms vary. Candida auris infections are mainly accompanied by ear infections, wound infections, blood infections, abdominal organ infections, heartburn, difficulty swallowing, body aches, fever and fatigue.
The risks
It is not the first time that Candida auris has been diagnosed in Italy. The case ascertained in Tuscany is the first after almost eight months, when it was detected on a patient from Mestre (Venice) in July 2022. In 2019 the fungus was detected for the first time in Italy, followed by an outbreak in the North Italy, between 2020 and 2021. The elderly, children, frail people, smokers and patients with immunological deficiencies or patients returning from surgery are most exposed to the risk of infection