A drug resistant fungus, Candida Auris, causes more and more infections in European hospitals, warns the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The agency stresses that additional supervision and control measures are needed to limit its spread.
According to the ECDC report, over 4,000 cases were registered between 2013 and 2023 in the European Union and in neighboring states, with a significant increase in recent years. Most cases reported in Spain, Greece, Italy, RomeNia and Germany, and recent outbreaks were confirmed in Cyprus, France and Germany.
Specialists point out that in some regions, C. Auris has become almost endemic in the hospital environment, being difficult to differentiate between outbreaks. The fungus spreads easily between patients, resists on areas and medical equipment and is not eliminated by all the usual disinfectants.
Infections are especially dangerous for already sick patients, being able to affect blood, wounds or ears. Symptoms vary and there is no common clinical picture, which is why laboratory tests are essential in diagnosis.
Of the 36 European countries analyzed, only 17 have national surveillance programs of C. Auris, and 15 have clear prevention and control protocols.
“It is a worrying situation, a real threat to the safety of patients in European hospitals,” said Diamantis Plachouras, the head of the ECDC team for antimicrobial resistance.
