Attention: Dangerous Candida fungus spreads in Germany!

Attention: Dangerous Candida fungus spreads in Germany!

The dangerous yeast mushroomCandida Aurisis increasingly spreading in Europe and is a serious threat in particular for weakened patients. This fungus was first discovered in Japan in 2009 and has since spread mainly in hospitals. How oe24.at reports isCandida AurisResistant to many medication, which makes it difficult to treat infections. This leads to a significant death rate; The US health authority CDC estimates that between 30 and 60 percent of the infected people can die.

The European Union has recorded a dramatic increase in infections in recent years. In Germany, 120 cases were reported last year, with the figures climbing on with 77 cases in 2023. In a European comparison, Germany took fifth place with regard to the reported cases between 2013 and 2023. However, most cases were registered in Spain, followed by Greece, Italy and Romania, like tagesschau.de indicate.

Transfer and resistance

The transfer ofCandida Aurisis done by lubricating infections from person to person, but not through the air, which makes it more difficult. Particularly worrying is the ability of the mushroom to remain active on surfaces and medical devices for a long time, which makes containment in hospitals challenging. According to a report by the European Center for Prevention and Control of Diseases (ECDC), the actual number of infections could only represent the "tip of the iceberg", since many countries do not carry out comprehensive data collection.

For healthy people, an infection is usually harmless, with many not showing any symptoms. However, the situation is different for vulnerable groups, such as patients in intensive care units. These can suffer severe infections such as sepsis due to the fungus, which ends fatally in almost every second case. Expert Oliver Kurzai emphasizes that, although the distribution cannot be completely prevented, preventive measures could significantly reduce the effects on hospital patients.

Global health and challenges

The growing resistance to antimicrobial means, not only atCandida Auris, is a global health problem. In 2022, the WHO reported that over 670,000 bacterial infections occur annually in the EU and around 33,000 deaths are due to this. The disease burden by these resistance is comparable to influenza, tuberculosis and HIV, which underlines the urgent need to take effective measures against antimicrobial resistance, as on the side of WHO can be removed.

There is currently a high proportion of resistance to important antibiotics, which significantly limits the treatment options for patients with serious infections. In order to minimize the health consequences of these developments, coordinated efforts to combat resistance development and patient education are of crucial importance.