DEADLY DRUG-RESISTANT FUNGUS OUTBREAK STRIKES 200 UK HOSPITAL PATIENTS

More than 200 people have been contaminated or infected
with a potentially deadly strain of a drug-resistant fungus .
Some 20 separate NHS trusts and independent hospitals
detected Candida auris in patients, with three hospitals
being forced to tackle “large” outbreaks of the pathogen
that is “difficult to control”.
First discovered in Japan , the family of yeasts can live on
the skin and inside the body, causing complications in
people with weakened immune systems.
Public Health England (PHE) said doctors at one hospital
were still dealing with an outbreak of the fungus, which is
resistant to a commonly prescribed fungicidal drug.
Medical staff have been issued with new guidance on
detecting and dealing with the fungus, including the
“intensive” disinfection of wards amid concern over the
“increasing experience of the complexities” infections are
posing.
Meanwhile a biosafety unit at Porton Down, the UK’s
chemical weapons lab, has been testing fungicidal activity
of a variety of disinfectants and antiseptics.
“As at the beginning of July 2017, 20 separate NHS Trusts
and independent hospitals in the United Kingdom had
detected over 200 patients colonised or infected with
Candida auris,” PHE said.
“Three hospitals have seen large nosocomial [within
hospital] outbreaks that have proved difficult to control,
despite intensive infection prevention and control
measures, though two of these outbreaks have been
declared over and one is seeing significantly fewer
numbers of new acquisitions.
“Over 35 other hospitals have had patients known to be
colonised with Candida auris transferred to them.”
PHE said there was no evidence that any of the infections
had resulted in the death of a patient in the UK, although
there were limitations to the data available.
Official guidance states that infections are usually minor.
PHE said most cases detected in the UK have been of
colonised patients, while around a quarter of cases have
been clinical infections – including 27 patients who
developed bloodstream infections.
Complications arise when the fungus enters the body or
bloodstream during medical treatment.