Candida Auris – A New Fungal Superbug

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The Telegraph reports on a virulent new superbug sweeping through the United Kingdom. The culprit is a relatively new (or rather, newly discovered) species of Candida, known as Candida auris, which had been reported in 50 patients at the time of the writing of the article and is associated with high rates of mortality.

Candida auris was first discovered in Japan in 2009, but has since been found in countries all over the world. Like other fungi, C. auris is extremely opportunistic. Like other superbugs, it has been found to be prevalent in hospitals and easily transmitted between hospital patients, many of which are already severely immunocompromised. Like other “superbugs” C. auris is resistant to traditional therapies used for fungal infections and is associated with high rates of mortality. In fact, The Telegraph article states that, “Global studies have found six in ten of those infected with the fungus die, though it has not been possible to prove whether the bug has caused the death.” While this is because the patients who died were already severely compromised, it is certainly suspect that the majority of patients infected with the fungi die. The link between this fungi and mortality is strong enough, and its implications concerning enough, that the CDC has issued a clinical alert regarding C. auris, in lieu of a general notice.

Superbugs have become more commonplace following decades of wanton antibiotic use in both people and animals. Everyone likely remember the scares associated with MRSa and other anti-biotic resistant bacteria. A fungal superbug, however, is a relatively new development, and one our healthcare providers might not be well equipped to handle. This is concerning for anyone entering into a hospital.

Unfortunately, this is not a new story line for those of us familiar with the Fungus Link to disease theory. The truth is that there is much evidence that fungus is responsible for many symptoms and much misery in humans, and our doctors remain unable to diagnose the problems or largely unaware of the problems associated with fungi, to begin with! Many physicians would likely roundly reject the notion that fungus would have anything to do with any of your health problems to begin with.

Despite this, their own literature may provide a clue as to how fungi can affect the health of people, on a large scale; Dr. Ruth Etzel published in the Journal of the American Medical association that fungal poisons, known as mycotoxins, were common contaminants of huge swaths of our food system, including grains and corn. Knowing this, it is safe to assume that anyone eating those foods is getting regular exposure to mycotoxins, which are some of the most toxic, naturally occurring substances on earth.

While this and much other research points to the fact that fungi may play a profound role in the health or lack thereof in people, mainstream medicine continues to ignore the fact that fungi can cause symptoms in people. It is unfortunate, but the rise of fungal superbugs may be what breaches the gap between our physicians knowledge of fungi and their ability to help their patients get better.