- A mysterious and dangerous fungal infection called Candida auris has emerged around the world. The infection has been reported predominantly among patients in healthcare facilities.
- Candida auris is a fungus that when gets into bloodstream causes serious infections and can life threatening. The fungus was first identified in 2009 in a patient in Japan. Increasing numbers of infections have been identified in multiple countries since 2009. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, USA has added it to a list of germs deemed “urgent threats.”
- A major concern with the fungus is that it is resistant to many antifungal medications commonly used to treat Candida infections. Of late, fungi, just like bacteria are growing resistance to drugs and thus adding to the concern over antimicrobial resistance (AMR). According to public health experts the rampant use of antifungals in agriculture sector is a major contributing factor to antifungal resistance.
- Anti-microbial resistance is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, fungi, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals and antimalarials) from working against it. AMR threatens the effective prevention and treatment of increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognises AMR as a serious threat to global public health.
