Dangerous 'Superbug' Threat To New Jersey Quadruples, CDC Warns | Patch

health & fitness Shared from Point Pleasant, NJ

UPDATE: The drug-resistant fungal infection has a bigger presence in NJ than originally thought. The CDC says it's a "global health threat."

By Tom Davis, Patch National Staff | Apr 8, 2019 1:38 pm ET | Updated Apr 9, 2019 9:50 am ET The drug-resistant Candida auris has had a big impact in New Jersey, the CDC says. (CDC photo)

The number of people stricken by a potentially dangerous, drug-resistant fungus infection has quadrupled in New Jersey over the past year, presenting what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling "a serious global health threat."

The cases of "Candida auris," a serious and sometimes fatal fungal infection that is emerging globally, have been identified in New Jersey and 11 other states across America, according to the CDC.

The CDC says there have been 101 confirmed cases of C. auris, otherwise known as the "Superbug," in New Jersey and 22 probable cases. The state Department of Health, however, says New Jersey has had 104 confirmed and 22 probable cases between June 2015 and end of February 2019.

The state trails only New York, which has had 309 confirmed cases, and Illinois, which has had 144. The CDC says there have been 587 confirmed cases across the country.

By contrast, in October 2017, CDC reported that New Jersey had 27 confirmed cases of the infection and 23 probable cases. At the time, the state's number was the second highest in the nation, behind only New York, which had 92 confirmed cases and 4 probable.

This yeast is difficult to identity and often does not respond to commonly used anti-fungal drugs, leading to high mortality, according to Rutgers University officials.

Based on information from a limited number of patients, the CDC says, 30–60 percent of people with C. auris infections have died. However, many of these people had other serious illnesses that also increased their risk of death.

"Most C. auris cases in the United States have been detected in the New York City area, New Jersey, and the Chicago area," according to the CDC.

Indeed, the disease has presented itself as enough of a threat that the CDC awarded Rutgers University a $300,000 contract over two years to fight the infection's spread as part of the CDC's Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative.

"It's acting like a superbug," Paige Armstrong, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer, has said. "Without appropriate infection control and really a rigorous response, [it] could lead to even more cases in the United States."

The disease's presence in New Jersey first became public in 2016 when the CDC warned that two people in New Jersey and at least 7 people nationwide were stricken.

At the time, four of the patients – including one in New Jersey – died, although it is unclear whether all the deaths were associated with C. auris infection or underlying health conditions.

The New Jersey patient died in July 2015 after suffering from a brain tumor, according to the CDC. The agency did not say where the New Jersey cases took place.

Candida grows as yeast, and symptoms include difficulty swallowing, burning, genital itching and sometimes a cheese-like discharge that looks white, according to the CDC.

In 2009, C. auris was first described in a patient in Japan. There is documented transmission of C. auris to US patients from healthcare facilities in India, Pakistan, South Africa and Venezuela, according to the CDC.

Fungal infections often cause serious disease among patients with compromised immune systems or other debilitating conditions resulting in high morbidity and mortality. Globally, nearly 1.4 million deaths a year are attributed to invasive fungal infections, which is on par with deadly diseases like tuberculosis, according to the CDC.

Here are ways to avoid contracting the disease:

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