For weeks, the Atlanta-based CDC has warned that Georgia is one of the states where a deadly fungus has been spreading “at an alarming rate” in health care facilities.
CDC officials note in general, Candida auris is not a threat to healthy people. But it is resistant to multiple anti-fungal drugs and is infecting the sickest and most vulnerable.
People who are more medically fragile — especially those with long or frequent stays in healthcare facilities — are more likely to become infected. The fungus spreads through contact with contaminated environmental surfaces or equipment, or from person to person.
Most C. auris infections are treatable with a class of antifungal drugs called echinocandins. However, the CDC notes some infections have been resistant to all three main classes of antifungal medications — making treatment more difficult.
Dr. Meghan Lyman is a chief medical officer in the CDC’s Mycotic Diseases Branch. Lyman sat down with WABE’s “Morning Edition” and put into perspective just how prevalent the fungus truly is here in Georgia.
