What have we learnt from that past 24 months of lockdown after lockdown? Simply put, as a species we were woefully unprepared for wide scale health threats. It’s that simple.

So, it’s time to get ahead. Stop reacting and start preventing future threats.

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That’s exactly what we are doing at Bromoco International.  As Covid-19 starts to become part of normal life, we turned our attention to what could come next. To no one’s surprise, the next threat is already here – Candida Auris (C. auris)
 

Candida Auris is a fungus that can cause a fatal bloodstream infection.  Various strains have shown to be drug resistant with some completely immune to echinocandins – anti-fungal medication usually used to treat infections.  That means if you catch it, you may be on your own to get through it.  So those with a compromised immune system are seriously at risk, such as people who have had Covid-19. 

Studies have shown that the mortality rate for those infected is between 30-60%.  When you compare that to COVID-19’s mortality rate in the US of ~1.6% (New York Times November 2021) then you start to see why this fungus is something we need to get ahead of.

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Further to the risks if you get infected, C. auris has the following issues:

Long surface survival
C. auris can survive at least 2 weeks on surfaces in a healthcare environment (NCBI – US National Center for Biotechnology)
 

Hard to detect
C. auris is difficult to detect using standard laboratory methods. Specialised laboratories are needed to determine if C. auris is present, and this often causes mis-diagnosis slowing down detection.
 

Extremely hard to eradicate
Only a small number of chemical and cleaning products have shown to be effective in killing the fungus. Some healthcare facilities have had to remove dry wall and rebuild to be sure that the fungus has been removed.
 

You could already be colonised
C. auris colonises in the skin, where it is mostly harmless and can live in harmony with humans. However, once it gets a chance to get inside of your body and cause an infection, that’s when you become compromised.