Dangerous 'Superbug' Found In CT, CDC Confirms

CONNECTICUT — A potentially dangerous, drug-resistant fungus infection has been found in Connecticut. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling the fungus infection "a serious global health threat."

The cases of "Candida auris," a serious and sometimes fatal fungal infection that is emerging globally, have been identified in Connecticut and 11 other states across America, according to the CDC.

The CDC says there has been one confirmed cases of C. auris, otherwise known as the "Superbug," in Connecticut. And while there has been just one confirmed case in Connecticut thus far, there have been more than 100 cases confirmed in the neighboring states of New York and New Jersey.

New York has reported 309 confirmed cases, New Jersey, 101, and Illinois, which has had 144. Massachusetts also has seven confirmed case. The CDC says there have been 587 confirmed cases across the country.

The New York Times this weekend did an in-depth story on the dangerous 'superbug,' and reached out to Connecticut state officials for its story. The New York Times says, "... Connecticut state officials wouldn’t tell us the name of the hospital where they had had a C. auris patient, let alone connect us with her family."

This yeast is difficult to identity and often does not respond to commonly used anti-fungal drugs, leading to high mortality, according to Rutgers University officials.

Based on information from a limited number of patients, the CDC says, 30–60 percent of people with C. auris infections have died. However, many of these people had other serious illnesses that also increased their risk of death.

"Most C. auris cases in the United States have been detected in the New York City area, New Jersey, and the Chicago area," according to the CDC.

Indeed, the disease has presented itself as enough of a threat that the CDC awarded Rutgers University a $300,000 contract over two years to fight the infection's spread as part of the CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative.

“It’s acting like a superbug," Paige Armstrong, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer, has said. "Without appropriate infection control and really a rigorous response, [it] could lead to even more cases in the United States.”

Candida grows as yeast, and symptoms include difficulty swallowing, burning, genital itching and sometimes a cheese-like discharge that looks white, according to the CDC.

In 2009, C. auris was first described in a patient in Japan. There is documented transmission of C. auris to US patients from healthcare facilities in India, Pakistan, South Africa and Venezuela, according to the CDC.

Fungal infections often cause serious disease among patients with compromised immune systems or other debilitating conditions resulting in high morbidity and mortality. Globally, nearly 1.4 million deaths a year are attributed to invasive fungal infections, which is on par with deadly diseases like tuberculosis, according to the CDC.

Tom Davis, Patch editor, contributed to this story.