Superfungo: PE restricts attendances in two hospitals – 05/23/2023 – Health

Two cases of the superfungus candidate auris were confirmed by the Secretary of Health of Pernambuco. Patients are hospitalized in state health network hospitals. The announcement was made this Monday (22).

The two men are hospitalized at Hospital Miguel Arraes, in Paulista, in the metropolitan region of Recife, and at Hospital Tricentenário, in Olinda, in the same region. They are 48 and 77 years old, respectively.

The men were already hospitalized due to other reasons, according to the secretariat, and do not have clinical effects resulting from the diagnosis of the fungus.

The government is investigating whether the cases originate in the hospitals themselves or whether patients were infected outdoors before being admitted.

The Health Department decided to restrict care for new patients to prevent the spread of the fungus within the two hospitals.

The folder also said, through a note, that it carried out actions to clean and disinfect environments, in addition to searching for new cases in people who were in the same environment where the two patients circulated. So far, no new cases have been identified from the available results, according to the state agency.

The release for new appointments will only happen if the results are negative for the presence of the fungus in the people who circulated in the spaces, according to the Health Department.

A candida auris is a fungus that can cause invasive, severe infections associated with high mortality, and may present multidrug resistance characteristics and lead to the occurrence of outbreaks in health services.

According to the Health Department of Pernambuco, the mechanism of transmission of the superfungus within health services is still not fully known.

“However, initial evidence suggests that it spreads through contact between hospitalized patients and contaminated surfaces or equipment in infected patient rooms”, says the folder, which claims that it is still essential to reinforce prevention and control measures, such as hand hygiene and cleaning and disinfection of the environment and equipment.