Fresh ‘Last of Us’ fears as new type of killer fungus that ‘poses global public health threat’ discovered
A NEW type of drug-resistant fungus has been discovered by scientists.
They say the fresh clade of Candida auris, which kills up to 60 per cent of those it infects, poses a “serious threat to global public health”.
It is a highly-transmissible fungal infection that can cause serious illness, particularly among vulnerable hospital patients.
In some cases it won’t cause any symptoms, but some people experience a fever or chills, low blood pressure and a rash, and it can lead to bloodstream, wound and ear infections, according to Public Health England.
Candida auris is similar to the zombie-ant fungus at the heart of post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us – season two of which comes out in 2025.
A trailer for the programme, which stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, was released this week.
The new discovery, published in the The Lancet Microbe, brings the total number of Candida auris clades known worldwide to six.
It was detected in April 2023 after a patient at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) tested positive.
Researchers discovered they had a type that was genetically different to the existing five, then found two other unrelated patient cases.
They now hope to use machine learning to detect new clades early.
Dr Karrie Ko, co-first author of the study and consultant at SHG, said: “The emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris poses a serious threat to global public health due to its worldwide distribution, multi-drug resistance, high transmissibility, propensity to cause outbreaks, and high mortality.
“The implications of this discovery extend far beyond the laboratory.
“Now that we have discovered the sixth Candida auris clade, there is a pressing need to improve surveillance capability or develop new methods to augment current surveillance strategies so that health care facilities can keep a close watch on its emergence and contain the spread once found.”
Dr Chayaporn Suphavilai, co-first author and senior scientist at A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore, added: “This study demonstrated that machine learning approach can improve surveillance capabilities by automatically detecting unusual outlier genomes.
“Our human-in-the-loop machine learning workflow facilitates continuous learning from new data, so that we can detect and investigate potential novel genomes as early as possible.
“This has the potential to strengthen surveillance against emerging public health threats.”
While senior author Niranjan Nagarajan, associate professor at the Infectious Diseases Translational Research Program at the National University of Singapore, said: “Genomic surveillance is essential for understanding emerging pathogens.
“By integrating genomics, metagenomics, and collaborative efforts among researchers and clinicians, we can continually enhance our pandemic preparedness and response to public health threats.”
What is Candida auris?
Candida auris is a fungus that, when it gets into the bloodstream, can cause dangerous infections that can be life-threatening.
It’s not usually a threat to healthy people, but it can be deadly for those with weak immune systems – especially patients who are already sick, the elderly and newborns.
It is often symptom-less, but some people experience a fever, chills, sweating, low blood pressure, fatigue, an increased heart rate, pain in the ear, and a rash.
In serious cases, Candida auris can cause ear and wound infections, urinary tract infections (UTIs) and infections in the blood that can spread to the rest of the body, like sepsis.
Overall, it has a mortality rate of between 30 and 60 per cent.
Candida auris was first identified in a patient in Japan in 2009.
Experts have warned that the killer fungal infection – that is resistant to drugs – is now sweeping the globe, with cases rising worldwide.
Candida auris spreads through direct contact with someone who has it, or from touching a contaminated surface. It can also be passed on through medical devices.
In 2019, the UK Government issued a warning to hospitals about a new strain. There are now six known types, or clades.
To prevent outbreaks, patients who test positive should be isolated, and there should be enhanced hygiene procedures and cleaning of affected clinical areas.
In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed Candida auris as a “critical priority” for research and public health action.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also declared the fungus as “an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat” as it has become increasingly difficult to treat.
Scientists have previously said it could trigger the next pandemic.
Cases are rising worldwide, increasing each year since 2016.
In the US, clinical cases rose from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021, and screening cases tripled from 2020 to 2021.
These were resistance to echinocandins – the antifungal medicine most recommended for treatment of Candida auris infections.
Epidemiologist Dr Meghan Lyman said at the time: “The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasises the need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control.”
It is also rising across Europe, with 1,812 cases reported by 15 EU/EEA countries from 2013 to 2021, according to Eurosurveillance.
The number doubled between 2020 (335 in eight countries) and 2021 (655 in 13 countries).
The UK and Spain were the first countries to report outbreaks.