Deadly Candida Auris Fungus Is Pervasive Threat Amid Secrecy

Worldwide cases of an infection known as Candida auris have become an "urgent threat," unveiling the dangers of drug-resistant germs for both bacteria and fungi from a cloud of secrecy over fear of public hysteria, The New York Times reported.

"It's an enormous problem," professor of fungal epidemiology at Imperial College London Matthew Fisher told the Times. "We depend on being able to treat those patients with anti-fungals."

The symptoms are similar to flu-like conditions – fever, aches, and fatigue – and the "superbugs" resistant to medicine are most problematic for people, fatal even, with weak immune systems, particularly newborns, the elderly, and diabetics, according to the report.

The Center for Disease Control reports nearly half of patients who contract Candida auris die, and the fungus spreads very easily and can take over a hospital room, leading some hospitals to keep the outbreak quiet to avoid public hysteria, according to the report.

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