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The first possible case in the country of Candida auris, a drug resistant “superfungal”, belongs to a patient who was admitted to a private hospital in Salvador (BA). The information was confirmed by the Secretary of Health of the State of Bahia (Sesab), after an alert from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).
No details were released about the patient or the name of the hospital, but, according to Anvisa, he was admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with covid-19. According to a note from Sesab, this type of fungus represents a serious threat to public health, “due to the fatality rate close to 60%.”
The infectious diseases doctor of the Bahia Epidemiological Surveillance Directorate, Antônio Bandeira, said in an audio sent by the secretariat to the press that it is still being investigated whether this was really the first patient with Candida auris or if there are more people infected with this fungus.
“What we do know is that this fungus was isolated from a catheter of a patient who was hospitalized, but exactly, if this is patient number 1 or if there is actually more than one patient, it is still being investigated,” he said.
According to Bandeira, the fungus was initially identified in the hospital’s microbiology sector. “This hospital, finding different characteristics that had been identified in the semi-automated panel, sent (the sample) to the Central State Laboratory, Lacen, which, in two analyzes, confirmed, through a methodology called Maldi-Tof”, explained .
The sample was also sent to the Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (HCFMUSP), which sent Anvisa the report with a positive result for Candida auris. However, analyzes will still be carried out to verify the sensitivity and resistance profile, in addition to the genetic sequencing of the microorganism by the Special Laboratory of Mycology of the Paulista School of Medicine (Lemi-Unifesp).
According to the infectious disease doctor, hygiene measures were reinforced in the hospital, because this type of fungus can be transmitted by surfaces and between people. However, there is still no evidence that the interdiction of the medical unit is necessary.
“This fungus has a different characteristic, because most fungi are not transmitted from person to person. We generally see this with multi-resistant bacteria. However, this fungus can be transmitted from person to person. That is, it can have contact transmission Furthermore, it can remain on surfaces and serve as an intermediate material for infection, ”he said.
Alert
According to Anvisa’s warning, the Candida auris it is resistant to various antifungal medications, generally used to treat Candida infections. Some of the strains of this type of fungus are resistant to the three main classes of antifungal drugs.
The agency also indicates that the Candida auris it can cause bloodstream infection and other invasive infections and can be fatal in patients with comorbidities.
The alert also highlights the propensity to cause outbreaks, due to the difficulty of identification by routine laboratory methods and disposal in the contaminated environment.
The fungus can also remain in environments for weeks or months and is resistant to some disinfectants, such as those based on ammonia.
