Fungus Tag

Article Title: Catastrophic threat’: CDC chief fears a deadly superbug’s spread

Source:  STAT

Date: 4-21-17

Link:  https://www.statnews.com/2017/04/21/superbug-cdc-fungus-candida-auris/

Summary: The CDC is very busy these day with antibiotic resistant microbes and various outbreaks, but there are other deadly lesser known microbes  spreading about in hospitals too. This article reports on one of the CDC’s most recent foes, the fungus  Candida auras. This fungus is very deadly to humans, resistant to many antifungals,  and like to infect people who are already injured. Where does it live? Hospitals. Just one more thing the CDC has to deal with while their budget is getting slashed by the president to make room for more military spending.

Connection:  This article made me think of the chapters on controlling microbial growth. Bacteria due to their many differences from  Eukaryote have lots of targets for antibacterial medications. However fungus are  Eukaryote and thus such harder to fight. Since this fungus is already resistant to many of our antifungal medications it is really scary. Our only hope might  good disinfectants to keep hospitals clean.

Critical Analysis:  The articles topic,  Candida auras is very interesting. When most people think of antimicrobial resistant microbes they only think of bacteria. However, fungus can also be resistant to antimicrobial agents. The article doesn’t really provide to much information on the fungus sadly. However I think its purpose was just to raise awareness.

Question:  I would love to know a little bit more about this fungus and how it has resistance to things. How do fungus fight antifungal medication?