The health concerns are not yet over for the United States, as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) marked a notorious yeast virus to be an "urgent threat" that it needs to address. This is Candida auris, a yeast virus that emerged in the past long before the threat of COVID-19 appeared in the world, but this time, it evolved into a drug-resistant virus.
COVID-19 may have taken the public's attention away from other diseases in the world, but this does not mean that they are dead or extinct off the Earth.
Yeast Virus is Gaining Traction, CDC Considers it an 'Urgent Threat'
(Photo : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
In a recent study published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers evaluated the spread of a lesser-known yet notoriously deadly virus from fungi, the Candida auris yeast. Despite the public being highly focused on COVID-19, there have been significant infections recorded regarding this yeast virus that has evolved through the years.
From 2019 to 2021, the clinical records of the virus jumped from 476 cases to a whopping 1,471 in the span of these two years that the world is inherently focused on the coronavirus.
As many as 28 states were affected by the virus, including Washington DC, and the CDC is now considering this as an 'urgent threat' as per its recent statement regarding the yeast virus.
This Yeast Virus is More Drug Resistant Now, Amidst COVID Era
According to the reports and studies, they have found that this particular yeast virus shown significant development and is now drug-resistant, growing its dangers amidst the COVID-19 era. In 2019, there were 19 cases of yeast virus infections resisting the anti-fungal treatment known as echinocandins.
In 2021, it was reported that there were seven cases also resisting the treatment. At the present, the significant alarm caused by the virus among health professionals is rising, with the virus continuing its drug resistance and spread in the country.
CDC's Health Concerns for the Country
COVID-19 may have significantly reshaped the world in many ways and not just because of the virus, but also into a new normal lifestyle where people would have to be wary of their environment and simple colds. There is a known phenomenon called the "COVID-19" psychosis where people's mental health is severely affected by simply knowing that the virus is still out there.
The CDC is on the frontlines against COVID, centering on the significant health concerns of the country amidst the pandemic, one that centered on eradicating the virus as its top priority.
There were still many bacterias, fungi, viruses, and other diseases out there that the CDC closely monitored amidst the pandemic, and there were discoveries made in the past.
Now that COVID-19 is hanging in the back seat and is not that much of a bother thanks to vaccination and immunization efforts, the CDC is now turning its attention to other rapidly growing viruses that may be the source of new infections. The Candida auris yeast virus is certainly troublesome, as it too is deadly, also highly-infectious, and drug-resistant which is a significant problem now.
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