Superbugs are more than just antibiotic resistant bacteria, they’re antifungal resistant fungi and adaptive, hard to treat viruses, too. As the world changes, more superbugs are appearing and creating new challenges for hospitals.
One new superfungus is Candida auris fungus (C. auris). Hard to diagnose and with generic fungal symptoms, C. auris has snuck its way around the world. It mostly infects those who already have weakened immune systems (especially those with another chronic illness), and is prone to causing severe infections (infecting blood or organs).
It’s not something to panic about; for now C. auris cases are rare in the US and are mostly limited to hospitals and nursing homes, but it’s something to be aware of.
C. auris symptoms depend on where the infection is on the body, with a risk of it getting in the bloodstream. General infection symptoms like fever and chills might be present (only a blood test can diagnose C. auris, and specialized lab equipment is required; part of the danger of C. auris is misdiagnosis).
Like other superbugs a big part of what makes it difficult isn’t just how hard it is to treat, but how hard treatment is on the body. Treating C. auris requires multiple antifungal medications, and just one antifungal can be hard to take.
Preventing C. auris is like preventing anything else–lots of handwashing, cleaning, and self care. Because having a secondary disease is a big risk factor, it’s important to practice generalized care including fall prevention. For anyone visiting someone in a nursing home or hospital, handwashing is very important to protect the people there.
Anyone can support their immune system with colloidal silver.
