Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/st...-infection-candida-auris-hospital/9040046002/
Outbreak of rare, fungal superbug reported at Salem Hospital
Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
Dec. 28, 2021
Two patients at Salem Health contracted a dangerous fungal infection during their stays at the hospital during an "outbreak" of Candida auris, a type of yeast rare to the United States, the Oregon Health Authority reported Tuesday.
A case — the first ever found in Oregon — was detected at the hospital Dec. 11 and confirmed Dec. 17 in an individual who had "recent international health care exposures."
Two already-hospitalized patients then came down with the infection on Dec. 23 and Dec. 27.
Salem Health and OHA are working to notify health care facilities that had received transfer patients from the "affected units" at Salem Health. It was not immediately clear which units at Salem Health are impacted by the outbreak.
The fungus, also called C. aris, can cause infections in wounds or the bloodstream and is most dangerous for hospital or nursing home patients who have serious medical conditions, weakened immune systems or have tubes or lines entering their body, according to OHA and the Centers for Disease Control.
The risk of infection to otherwise healthy people is "extremely low."
Since 2013, about 1,150 clinical cases of Candida auris have been identified in the United States. The CDC describes it as presenting a "serious global health threat."...
Outbreak of rare, fungal superbug reported at Salem Hospital
Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
Dec. 28, 2021
Two patients at Salem Health contracted a dangerous fungal infection during their stays at the hospital during an "outbreak" of Candida auris, a type of yeast rare to the United States, the Oregon Health Authority reported Tuesday.
A case — the first ever found in Oregon — was detected at the hospital Dec. 11 and confirmed Dec. 17 in an individual who had "recent international health care exposures."
Two already-hospitalized patients then came down with the infection on Dec. 23 and Dec. 27.
Salem Health and OHA are working to notify health care facilities that had received transfer patients from the "affected units" at Salem Health. It was not immediately clear which units at Salem Health are impacted by the outbreak.
The fungus, also called C. aris, can cause infections in wounds or the bloodstream and is most dangerous for hospital or nursing home patients who have serious medical conditions, weakened immune systems or have tubes or lines entering their body, according to OHA and the Centers for Disease Control.
The risk of infection to otherwise healthy people is "extremely low."
Since 2013, about 1,150 clinical cases of Candida auris have been identified in the United States. The CDC describes it as presenting a "serious global health threat."...
