Dangerous fungus spreading in US hospitals has ‘rapidly increased'

[libertybele]

So take your chances in trying to heal naturally at home rather than risk dying more rapidly in the hospital. 

Dangerous fungus spreading in US hospitals has ‘rapidly increased'

A dangerous fungus spreading among U.S. healthcare systems isn’t slowing down, reports claim.

New research has revealed that Candida auris (C. auris) has spread rapidly in hospitals since it was first reported in 2016.

In March 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported more than 4,000 new clinical cases of C. auris, dubbing it an "urgent antimicrobial (AR) threat."

A new study published in the American Journal of Infection Control on March 17 analyzed clinical cultures of C. auris across the U.S. collected from 2019 to 2023.

The number of clinical cultures increased by 580% from 2019 to 2020, by 251% in 2021, by 46% in 2022, and by 7% in 2023.

"The volumes of clinical cultures with C. auris have rapidly increased, accompanied by an expansion in the sources of infection," concluded the researchers, primarily from the University of Miami.

JoAnna Wagner with the Georgia Department of Public Health shared with local ABC News affiliate WJCL that Georgia, one of the impacted states, has detected more than 1,300 cases as of the end of February.

"Many of the disinfectants that are EPA-registered and historically used by hospitals and medical facilities are not effective against C. Auris," Wagner said...............

https://www.foxnews.com/health/dangerous-fungus-spreading-us-hospitals-rapidly-increased

[Wingnut]

My policy is to never go to a hospital. They will kill you there.

[libertybele]

My policy is to never go to a hospital. They will kill you there.

Some truth to that., it's been awhile since I've actually come home from the hospital in better shape than I went in.  Hospitals are overwhelmed, understaffed, germ-infested buildings with incompetent doctors and nurses that think that they can play God.

[Bigun]

If you want to get sick, go where the sick people are.

[libertybele]

If you want to get sick, go where the sick people are.

Exactly.  All the masks, hand sanitizer, and gowns aren't going to stop the germs.  I have been amazed the past couple of times I've been in the hospital by the poor sterile techniques practiced by clinical staff, including doctors.

Then 'housekeeping' comes in wipes the toilet down first and then proceeds to wipe down the rest of the room.  Gee, anyone see a problem with that picture??   

[Wingnut]

Exactly.  All the masks, hand sanitizer, and gowns aren't going to stop the germs.  I have been amazed the past couple of times I've been in the hospital by the poor sterile techniques practiced by clinical staff, including doctors.

Then 'housekeeping' comes in wipes the toilet down first and then proceeds to wipe down the rest of the room.  Gee, anyone see a problem with that picture??   

Hospitals are not safe today.  Love nurses. My mother was one. Head of the OR. Head of recovery and then Head of nursing.  She said things went to shit when Nursing Schools were closed and the colleges took over certifing nursing.   She was right.

[libertybele]

Hospitals are not safe today.  Love nurses. My mother was one. Head of the OR. Head of recovery and then Head of nursing.  She said things went to shit when Nursing Schools were closed and the colleges took over certifing nursing.   She was right.

Yes, I believe she was absolutely right.

In the State of FL it takes only 120 hours to become a 'certified nursing assistant'.  Pass the exam and you're good to go.  A curriculum so easy that a local vocational school used to teach the course and it got to the point that there were many more graduates than jobs. Then, there's the issue of some of them not being able to communicate fluently in English or if there is a nursing shortage on the floor they allow them to pass meds and hook up IV's with meds. 

IMHO I believe we have a healthcare crisis because of lack of sufficient training of clinical personnel. How does a doctor get licensed in the U.S.  w/o having studied in any American medical university or completed a residency program in the U.S.? 

[jafo2010]

libertybele...

How does a doctor get licensed in the U.S.  w/o having studied in any American medical university or completed a residency program in the U.S.?

Well, American medical schools have limited the number of folks entering to such a point that a shortage of doctors is severe across the nation.  So what do they do?  They allow MDs from other nations, they come and all they need do is pass the USMLE tests, and boom, they can practice medicine.

My wife went through it.  About three years into her studying for the USMLE tests, I asked her simply one night when she planned to take the 1st of the three tests.  She got extremely angry with me, going on about how it was not easy.  The next night, she plopped a laptop in my lap and said, "You think it is so easy, let's see how well you do!"  Mind you, I did not have any sarcasm when I asked her when she was taking her test, it was an innocent question of inquiry.  Every night for a week, a got the laptop with a new set of questions.

I ended up answering about 100 questions in total.  I got 39% of the questions correct, without ever studying anything science oriented.  At the end of the week, with a huge huff, she said, I should go to medical school.  That was the maddest she ever was at me.  I think she is still mad at me regarding that week.  It bothered her immensely I knew so many answers and she spent 7 years in her country getting her MD, practiced medicine for 3 years, and 3 years studying here and I did as well as I did with zero medical study.

Just can't win sometimes.

[jafo2010]

BTW, the very last place you want to enter is a hospital.  There is worse than this fungus.  My wife works on two bacteria, you get either one, you die.  And guess where they reside?  Yes, hospitals.  She is tracking 9 states and 1 city in the USA, and there are 8,000 dying each year in those locations.  They are not tracking the other 41 states.

Prior to the COVID pandemic, a study was done that indicated 27% of doctors wash their hands moving from one patient to another, and nurses, the number was like 70%.  I suspect those numbers have been increased with greater emphasis on sanitation in hospitals.

BUT NO MATTER, IF  YOU ARE IN A HOSPITAL, MAKE EVERYONE ENTERING YOUR ROOM WASH THEIR HANDS BEFORE TOUCHING ANYTHING.  NO EXCEPTIONS.  AND IF YOU VISIT A HOSPITAL, MAKE SURE YOU THOROUGHLY WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE TOUCHING ANYTHING IN YOUR HOME.  ANTI-BIOTICS DO NOT WORK ON THESE BACTERIA.

[Smokin Joe]

Something I learned on drilling rigs that were using oil-based drilling mud.
The same rules apply in hospitals.
Don't lean on anything: counters, corners, walls.
If you don't need to touch it, don't. If you do, wear gloves when possible.
Look with your eyes, not your fingers.
Keep your hands in your pockets.
Keep your hands off your face (you'd be amazed at how often people touch their face, rub their eyes, touch their mouth  or nose).

Similar to pathogens, a little dab of that drilling mud can end up smeared everywhere-only pathogens reproduce--'invert' (drilling mud) only seems to.

It applies to staying reasonably clean there, and would help keep from getting infected in a clinical environment. Hospitals are the only pathogen exchange sites more efficient than public schools and daycare facilities, at least that the public has access to.

I used to joke about being the sort who could get covered with drilling mud just looking at a rig from a couple miles away through binoculars. On one well, though, as a sort of joke, a service company hand gave a white satin promotional jacket to a Company Hand (onsite supervisor) I worked with, just to see how long it would take him to get it dirty. That man wore that jacket up onto the drill floor, and when he got back to his shack, to everyone's amazement, it was still spotless.

So, I watched how he managed to stay clean in a very dirty environment, observing him while he was up on the rig, and that's what those little rules came from. Following those rules made my laundry much easier to do...and helped keep my lab clean, too.