An alert issued by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) this Monday, 7 made public the discovery of the first case of a patient infected with the fungus Candida auris in national territory.
Considered highly powerful and extremely serious for human health, it was first reported in 2009 in Japan. Here in Brazil, according to information from Anvisa, the fungus was identified in a sample of the tip of a catheter from a patient admitted to the ICU of a hospital in the state of Bahia.
The portion collected will be analyzed by the Central Public Health Laboratory Prof. Gonçalo Muniz, in Salvador, and from the Laboratory of Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo (USP). Regarding patient data, no further information was revealed.
Candida auris can be lethal
Anvisa classifies Candida auris, or C. auris, as an emerging fungus capable of producing strains that resist the main classes of drugs and antifungals, such as polyenes, echinocandins and azoles. Another point raised by the Agency is that it does not have easy identification and can be confused with other diseases caused by other yeast species.
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With a fatality rate between 30% and 60%, infections caused by C. auris can lead to death in nearly a third of infected patients. The main symptoms include dizziness, fatigue, high fever, vomiting and increased heart rate.
For the recognition and accurate diagnosis of the disease, patients who present these symptoms, which are quite common in other diseases, they can only find out if they are infected through more specific tests, such as blood samples analyzed in PCR, for example.
In 2016, after the epidemiological alert due to cases of C. auris in Latin America, Anvisa started the formation of a network of laboratories that could help Brazilian health services that work in the identification of the superfungus.
First found in a patient's ear, the fungus has also been found in the respiratory system and in urinary infections.
Also read: Mind Map - Fungi
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