Rare fungus found in 200 patients in 55 UK hospitals

LONDON: A rare fungus that can cause drug-resistant infections has been found in around 200 patients in more than 55 hospitals across Britain, health officials said on Tuesday.

Around a quarter of the cases of Candida auris have caused infections with symptoms, Public Health England (PHE) said, including in 27 patients who developed blood stream infections. The fungus, also known as C. auris and first identified in Japan eight years ago, is rare and low-risk, but has a propensity to spread between hospital patients.

"Most cases detected have not shown symptoms or developed an infection as a result of the fungus," said Colin Brown, a microbiologist with PHE’s national infection service. He said health service staff were working with PHE experts to limit the fungus’s spread.