Drug-resistant fungus spread rapidly in European hospital: EU agency
European disease center warns spread poses 'serious threat' to patients, health care systems
ISTANBUL
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Thursday confirmed that a drug-resistant fungus is spreading rapidly across hospitals.
"The latest survey from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the fourth of its kind, confirms that Candidozyma auris (formerly Candida auris) continues to spread quickly across European hospitals, posing a serious threat to patients and healthcare systems," ECDC warned.
It noted that the case numbers are rising while the outbreaks grow in scale, with several countries reporting ongoing local transmission.
According to ECDC, between 2013 and 2023, EU/EEA countries reported more than 4,000 cases, most of them in Spain, Greece, Italy, Romania, and Germany, with a sharp rise to 1,346 cases across 18 countries in 2023 alone.
"C. auris has spread within only a few years – from isolated cases to becoming widespread in some countries. This shows how rapidly it can establish itself in hospitals," said Diamantis Plachouras, head of ECDC’s Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-Associated Infections Section.
The disease center noted that recent outbreaks have been reported in the Greek Cypriot Administration, France, and Germany, while Greece, Italy, Romania, and Spain say they can no longer distinguish specific outbreaks due to widespread dissemination.
"While some countries have showed positive results in limiting C. auris outbreaks, many are facing key gaps. Despite rising case numbers, only 17 of 36 participating countries currently have a national surveillance system in place for C. auris," ECDC said.
Underlining that the number of infections is rising, it further warned that the true scale of the issue could be "under-reported" without systematic surveillance and mandatory reporting.
Candida auris (C. auris) is a drug-resistant fungus that spreads in health care settings, causes severe infections in vulnerable patients, and is difficult to control due to its persistence on surfaces and medical equipment and its ability to spread between patients.
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