A man infected with the killer fungus Candida auris died at Milan’s Sacco hospital on the morning of Friday, May 26. The fact was announced by Adnkronos Salute.
As it was leaked, the man (his personal details were not disclosed) had arrived from Greece and had been hospitalized for a stroke. Of the laboratory tests to which he was subjected, several positivities were found, among these the most significant is precisely that of Candida auris.
What is Candida auris?
Candida auris is a fungus that can colonize the skin, oropharynx, rectum, and other parts of the human body without causing symptoms and can contribute to its spread in hospital settings. The infection can be transmitted both by direct contact with an infected or colonized person, and by indirect contact with objects and equipment in the hospital environment, such as common thermometers or ultrasound, but also with contaminated surfaces in the patient’s room. It is difficult to get rid of it because it is resistant to common antiseptics. But these super bacteria also have the ability to resist the action of one or more antibiotics. The fungus spreads very easily in hospital environments. Capable of producing severe systemic infections in frail and debilitated patients.
The one in Milan is not the first case in Italy. In recent months, Marco Bassetti, interviewed by Today’s Simone Valesini, explained that more than a hundred cases had been registered in Italy. “In a recent work with my team, we described the epidemiological situation of our hospital: 157 patients colonized by Candida auris, of which 60% with Covid, and 27 patients who developed candidemia, that is, a deep infection -commented the infectologist- Figures quite important that they are representative of what is also found in the rest of our territory”.
The first case in the world had been isolated in Japan in the ear of a woman (hence ‘auris’). In Italy, the first case of invasive Candida auris infection was identified in 2019, followed by an outbreak that affected the northern regions in the 2020-2021 pandemic period, according to the Epicenter website of the Higher Institute of Health (ISS). Since 2019, both imported and autochthonous cases have been described or reported, for a total of about 300 cases – still reports Epicentro – in an epidemic outbreak that mainly involved Liguria and Emilia Romagna.
