The drug-resistant fungus that is putting health officials on alert

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(Elizabeth Payne/ Ottawa Citizen) — A Winnipeg resident returned from India seriously ill with a brain abscess and a chronic ear infection. The unidentified patient, who had undergone dental surgery in India, was infected with a drug-resistant form of bacteria.

And that was not all.

The 64-year-old is now recognized as Canada’s Patient Zero for an emerging new threat that has hospitals across the country on alert — multi-drug resistant Candida auris. The fungal infection was found in the patient’s ear when “cheesy” fluid was drained from it and tested.

Candida auris can spread from patient to patient and can live on skin, walls, curtains, handles, cellphones and other surfaces. The risk of infection in otherwise healthy patients is relatively low; Candida auris can colonize the skin of patients with no visible impact. (…)

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