On Thursday afternoon, Nikos Sypsas predicted that in a few decades the greatest enemy of humanity will not be the offspring of some kind of coronavirus that will deviate from the context of his symbiotic relationship with us.
Instead, it will be a tiny "cell" of the primordial kingdom of microbes that formed the first form of life to appear on Earth billions of years before more complex living things ruled.
A form of microbial life that lived close to humans appeared and sporadically infected the human body at least 13 years before the coronavirus was prevalent. Now that he is sinking, Candida auris is emerging as the new deadly danger.
The next threat
"The next threat to humanity is Candida auris, a germ that is already causing us problems, we will find it in front of us," said the professor at the 21st Panhellenic Conference on Infections, organized by the Hellenic Society of Infections.
"We are going through an endemic phase of the pandemic. But there are other threats, such as very resistant germs that are a big problem. In 2050 the first cause of death will be the very resistant germs and the causes of very resistant germs are the over-consumption of antibiotics as well as bad hand hygiene practices ".
They are in hospitals
"The next headlines will be written about it. It is in our hospitals and it kills. When he gets in there he never gets out. We had hospitals in Athens with a very big problem. We will find them in front of us ".
The era from the discovery of penicillin seems so far away, its beneficial effect so fragile. The spearhead of a new weapon that targeted and surprised the careless bacteria that hitherto, and since then, have plagued the immune systems of millions of people, has lost its luster.
One with antibiotics
Common and constantly adapting to environments that humans have never encountered, microbes such as Candida auris and its infinite family have, over time, assimilated the antibiotic action of drugs, adapting to and building on the protective shield they create in our immune system. invulnerable.
Candida auris causes candidiasis, ie infection of the skin or mucous membranes, and usually affects patients with weakened immune systems. "He escaped surveillance in ICUs and wards, as those responsible had to deal with the coronavirus and the fight against the epidemic."
Soil and mud
The ways of defense against bacteria and infections have been known for a long time, before scientific knowledge was acquired, it was the natural way of life itself, the daily exposure to nature, the forging of immunity through the same environment.
Ever since the time when the big cities of Greece had acquired their anarchic, concrete character, doctors advised parents to let their children play on the ground. To catch the mud in the park, to get dirty.
Immunity through natural selection has been hampered. And at some point, 13 years before the coronavirus was diagnosed in 2009, the yeast Candida auris, as it is called, was isolated in Japan from a sick ear (auris = Latin in ear). The ability to cause invasive infection was recognized in 2011 when the fungus was isolated from the blood of three fungal patients in South Korea.
Dispersion
Since then, Candida auris strains have been isolated worldwide in sporadic infections, nosocomial epidemics or as colonization of hospitalized patients, particularly in ICUs. Sequencing of the Candida auris strain genome from countries in East Asia, South Asia, South Africa and South America shows that distinct phylogenetic branches of Candida auris appeared and spread almost simultaneously in different geographical areas worldwide.
This fungus is considered dangerous in the future for three main reasons:
1. It is often resistant to antifungal drugs, such as azoles, or to other classes of antifungals, such as echinocandins and amphotericin B.
2. The identification of the yeast has difficulties with the usual laboratory methods. Misidentification can lead to improper management and treatment of patients.
3. As Candida auris is increasingly causing outbreaks in healthcare facilities, early detection is important to take specific measures to prevent the spread.
In GREECE
In Greece, the first isolation of the fungus was in 2019, and since then C. auris strains have been increasingly isolated from invasive infections (candidiasis), in severely ill patients with long-term hospitalization and the presence of intravascular catheters.
The fungus has also been isolated from samples of colonization of patients and staff, as well as from environmental samples from surfaces, according to the Microbiology Laboratory of the Athens Medical School, to which samples are sent from hospitals across the country for identification and sensitivity testing.
Evolution in mammals is difficult to observe over a long period of time, but in the case of fungi, bacteria and parasites, evolution occurs suddenly and causes death and serious complications.
Drug resistance is a natural consequence of the use of drugs for infectious diseases. The problem has reached epidemiological proportions in recent years and has been identified as one of the most serious threats to modern medicine by the World Health Organization.
Infections
Candida auris can cause life-threatening infections if it enters the bloodstream of patients with weakened immune systems. All germs, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, have the ability to develop resistance to the antimicrobials used to treat disease. When all the other germs are suppressed, there are more resources available for the resistant germs to grow and spread quickly.
The hearths
Outbreaks appear to be exacerbated during pregnancy and in nursing homes. In addition, its effects can be very serious, even leading to a point of decay. That is, the spread of the infection from the patient's blood.
The researchers hypothesized that while living in hospitals, they became resistant to the medication. Samples of hospital floors, clinic furniture, and even computers tested positive for Candida auris.
After confirming the first case of Candida auris in 2009, the researchers recognized that previous unrecognized infections were probably due to this pathogen. One case in particular in 2008, also in South Korea, could have been from him.
From there, scientists counted cases in India, South Africa, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States. The latter two countries, along with Spain and Colombia, recognized it as a fungus in 2016.
in.gr