Health officials: Candida Auris is not a concern for healthy individuals
Mar. 25—ANDERSON — Candida Auris, a potentially deadly fungus, has been making its way into health care facilities across the country. This has prompted concern from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as the fungus is antimicrobial-resistant.
Despite those things, both the CDC and local health officials say healthy people have nothing to fear.
Stephenie Mellinger, administrator for Madison County Health Department, said while it is a serious condition, people need not panic, an assertion which Madison County health officer and local physician Dr. Stephen J. Wright agreed with.
"We had COVID and then we had monkeypox," Mellinger said. "I feel like it's one thing after another and I feel like we need to be mindful not to panic and to not forget hand washing. It comes down to very basic hand washing."
Wright attributed the spread of the fungus to infrequent hand washing and the overuse of high dosage antibiotics, which can harm good bacteria instead of the bad.
When that happens, he said, unhealthy fungi and bacteria proliferate in the body, invading organs and other tissue. Bacteria keeps fungi from overgrowing and causing problems, which can't happen if they're dead.
Wright called upon his colleagues in the medical field to be more conservative when prescribing antibiotics, particularly those of a high dosage.
"I encourage health care providers, my colleagues, to not treat people for minor illnesses," he said. "I consider a cold, a sinus (infection), a chest cold, minor illness, for at least 14 days. That gives your body a chance to clear it out."
Most of the these illnesses are viruses, Wright said, which are not treatable with antibiotics. He also recommended low dosage antibiotics, if needed, be prescribed for a short duration, three to five days for minor infections.
He said shorter duration prescriptions lessen the likelihood of unhealthy fungi proliferating.
Though only recently in news, health care facilities in Indiana have been battling Candida Auris since 2019, according to Carolyn Fiutem, executive director of Community Health Network's Infection Prevention and Blood Management Program.
Community Health Network in particular has implemented multiple protocols to mitigate the spread, including additional disinfecting, isolating infected people and screening.
A common form of screening involves swabbing the skin of at-risk patients, including those with diabetes, chronic wounds and those who've been hospitalized outside the U.S.
According to Fiutem, Candida Auris most commonly appears on the skin near the armpit or groin area. Tested patients are isolated until the test comes back negative.
Visitor restrictions are likely not immanent, she said. However, those visiting infected persons will be required to wear gloves and a gown in addition to hand washing before and after a visit.
Fiutem recommended checking on loved ones in health care facilities regularly, regardless of facility type, and asking appropriate questions such as when their room was last cleaned and the fungus' prevalence in that facility.
Follow Caleb Amick on Twitter @AmickCaleb. Contact him at caleb.amick@heraldbulletin.com or 765-648-4254.
