Superbug may be spreading in hospitals overrun with COVID-19 - Live Science

As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to surge around the world, another dangerous infection may also be sickening patients: a drug-resistant superbug called Candida auris, National Geographic reported.

auris cases, according to the National Geographic report.

Notably, the United States has already reported 1,272 cases of the fungal infection this year, according to the CDC — that's about a 400% increase over the number of cases reported in all of 2018, the most recent year with available data.

auris, so doctors can identify the yeast only by using a specialized laboratory test. .

auris yeast comes in several variants that show resistance to different classes of antibiotic drugs; in particular, many variants studied show resistance to the common antifungal fluconazole, and several show resistance to amphotericin B, a second-line antifungal drug that can be given if an initial antibiotic fails, National Geographic reported.

auris can be treated with third-line antifungals called echinocandins, but these treatments aren't readily available in all countries and some variants of the yeast show resistance to all three classes of antifungals, the CDC notes.

Anuradha Chowdhary, a professor of medical mycology at Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute at the University of Delhi, told National Geographic that COVID-19 patients should be regularly screened for C.

auris, in order to accurately track rates of infection and identify which antibiotic treatments, if any, might help affected patients recover.

"If we don't identify it, then we don't know if a patient is dying of COVID-19 or another infection," Chowdhary said.

auris resists all three classes of antifungal medication, "multiple classes of antifungals at high doses may be required to treat the infection," but this treatment would be a last resort, the CDC notes.

auris at National Geographic