Currently, the White ears It is a fungus that is causing alarm in the United States. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has ruled on the matter due to the great resistance it has towards antifungal drugs. La República held a conversation with Carlos Echevarría, a dermatologist by profession, and many questions were clarified in relation to this dangerous pathogen: How is it spread?, what symptoms does it present?, how to prevent it?, among others.
What is Candida auris?
It is important to specify what the diseases caused by this pathogen are to understand the seriousness of the problem. During the interview, the dermatologist shared great information about the White ears.
He indicates that there are more than 100 types of fungus, but only 15 live in the human body and do not affect the natural flora of the skin; however, there are also pathogenic candida that can be acquired from abroad and cause different types of diseases. “The issue is that Candida auris is a candida that is multi-resistant to the most traditional antifungals, which are used in perhaps 99% of candida cases,” said the professional.
Candida auris was first detected in 2009 in Japan. Photo: composition LR/rafer/Mundo Sano
Candida auris: what are the symptoms and why is it worrisome?
In the interview, the doctor mentioned what are the problems that a person with candida auris: “It gives a fever, it gives this chill, a general malaise and it begins. In general, it can affect any organ, it can affect the brain, it can affect the lungs, the heart.”
Carlos Echevarría indicated that Candida auris, once it enters the bloodstream, affects the entire organism because its activity becomes systemic: “It means that it is in the blood and the blood reaches all the organs of the body. It means that This fungus is going to get into all the organs of the body and it is going to begin to cause the defect of that organ. That is why the patients end up in a kind of septic shock, but due to candida, the infection being multisystemic.”
In addition, the WHO has classified this pathogen as an “urgent threat”, since it is highly resistant to drugs and its contagion spreads rapidly, becoming deadly. The death of an infected person can occur in 90 days.
How is Candida auris spread?
Different medical reports state that the White ears It can be spread in different ways and one of these is intrahospital, that is, when a patient goes to a medical center and the spores of this fungus enter their body.
“Candida can be on any surface where there is moisture and the area where it enters is always through the skin. Patients who are hospitalized have central catheters that have cannulas with different types of devices to keep them alive in intensive care units or the postoperative are the patients who get complicated with this amount because the candida enters the body,” he explained and stressed that the spores of the pathogen enter through these routes.
