A Silent killer that is more contagious than Ebola
There is something killing people worldwide and it is more infectious than Ebola.
It’s a yeast, a new variety of an organism so common that it’s used as one of the basic tools of lab science, transformed into an infection so disturbing that one lead researcher called it “more infectious than Ebola” at an international conference last week. source.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Candida has evolved to become a super bug called Candida Auris. Except that maybe it should be a surprise to most, as we have become accustomed to Superbug bacterias not yeasts.
What is a 'Superbug'?
What are 'Superbugs'? We are all used to bacterias turning into superbugs. The excerpt mentioned below from a Mayo Clinic article, demonstrates in the very definition they give about 'Superbugs' exactly how they have mostly been known as bacterias.
"Superbugs" is a term used to describe strains of bacteria that are resistant to the majority of antibiotics commonly used today. Resistant bacteria that cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections and skin infections are just a few of the dangers we now face. source
What is Candidiasis?
Is it the same as the Candida that is the cause of yeast infections? Yes and no. A yeast infection can more accurately be broadly defined or classified as Candidiasis. Candidiasis is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) as:
Candidiasis is a fungal infection caused by yeasts that belong to the genus Candida. There are over 20 species of Candida yeasts that can cause infection in humans, the most common of which is Candida albicans. source
There are three common categories that are used to further classify how Candidiasis takes effect onto the human body:
- Thrush
- Infection via the mouth. This 'white tongue' is the first sign most will see. This strain is called C. Albicans.
source
- Infection via the mouth. This 'white tongue' is the first sign most will see. This strain is called C. Albicans.
Vaginal Candidiasis aka 'Yeast Infection'
- I felt the picture was not needed😉
Invasive Candidiasis
- Blood infection. Picture used below is from the most common strain called C. Albicans
source
- Blood infection. Picture used below is from the most common strain called C. Albicans
Currently, Candidiasis is not widely accepted as a medical condition worth treating, at least initially in 'Western Medicine'. Typically throughout history Candidiasis was looked at as a symptom of cancer, not a cause. Modern medicine notes that all types of Candida is typically present in a healthy person's gut, as it is a part of a healthy ratio of good microbes to bad microbes.
Naturally, if there was an imbalance of microbes that can cause Candidiasis, doctors would look for other underlying issues. Cancer, HIV, Autoimmune disorders or even previous organ transplants. Basically, any type of condition that maybe affecting your white blood cell counts in a negative way.
Your immune system might not be up to par. If you’re taking medication that suppresses your immune system — to treat autoimmune diseases like lupus, or because you’ve received organ transplants — you might be more susceptible to reoccurring yeast infections.
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Steroids also can make it hard for your immune system to fight a yeast infection, Nelson says, because they counteract the inflammation that is a necessary first step in your immune response.
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Diseases that attack the immune system, like HIV and leukemia, can let yeast grow wild, according to a 2010 University of Utah study. (NIH). source
Candida can cause cancer.
New research is giving credence to past doctors research that claims Candidiasis can actually cause cancer and how it's more than just a 'byproduct' of cancer. This is an assumption by many that has been dismissed and considered a conspiracy theory.
However, observations had been made by people treating children for leukemia, that when doctors administered antifungals for ‘secondary' fungal infections the children's leukemia would go into remission.
In 1999, Meinolf Karthaus, MD watched three different children with leukemia suddenly go into remission upon receiving a triple antifungal drug cocktail for their “secondary” fungal infections.[2]source
For many years, the only known link between Candida spp. infections, and cancer was that it is an opportunistic pathogen taking advantage of the immune system damage caused by chemo. Recently, new research has found that Candida albicans can actually also promote cancer by producing carcinogens, causing inflammation, increasing the response of Th17 cells, and molecular mimicry of our own immune cells.source
Due to Candidiasis not being recognized worldwide as a medical condition to treat or give priority to, ailments such as Cancer and HIV/AIDs are investigated as being the culprit of the fungus called Candida.
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Yeast infections such as Candida were recognized centuries ago as an indicator of much larger underlying diseases such as diabetes mellitus, malignant tumors, and chronic infections. source
Since the 1950’s, scientific research has shown the relationship Candidiasis has with cancer is beyond coincidence. Tests from a few decades ago, also further confirms this link.
...almost 50 years ago, Dr. J. Walter Wilson, in his textbook of clinical mycology (the study of fungi, molds and yeasts), said that "it has been established that histoplasmosis and such reticuloendothelioses as leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, lymphosarcoma, and sarcoidosis (see definition) are found to be coexistent [with yeast overgrowth] much more frequently than is statistically justifiable on the basis of coincidence."source
The late Milton White, MD., did exactly this.
...he was able to find fungal spores in every sample of cancer tissue he studied. His lifetime work has been routinely dismissed as nothing more than an unproven postulate.source
Genetic issues.
Genetic mutations can prevent your body from creating key Enzymes and Proteins that naturally occur when your immune system is triggered. The enzymatic protein called Lysozyme and other key enzymes are attributed to preventing candida overgrowth aside from healthy white blood cell counts. Lysozyme helps break the peptide bonds candida forms with your body.
Environmental factors are becoming more of a concern, however most current science still points to more hereditary factors for this cause.
Two genetic mutations might make some women more susceptible to Candida albicans, the fungus most responsible for chronic vaginal yeast infections, according to a 2011 French study conducted by the National Institutes of Health and Medical Research and the University Paris Descartes. A healthy immune system will recognize excess Candida growth and launch a defense — but immune systems in women with these genetic defects can’t create key proteins to make that defense possible.
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The genetic link might explain why frequent yeast infections seem more common in some families than in others.
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In a 2011 study, researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands examined the genetic profiles of 11 patients from 5 families who had chronic yeast infections and identified an inherited genetic mutation that made members of those families more susceptible.source
Lysozyme
Lysozyme is an enzyme that is found in mammals. Historically humans have acquired lysozyme through animal byproducts such as raw milk, eggs and raw cheese. This enzyme plays a key role in breaking the peptide bonds that Candida makes with your stomach cells. This may explain why humans historically have been known to eat animal byproducts and why people from certain regions of the world consume more animal byproducts than others.
Lysozyme is an enzyme that attacks bacterial cell walls. It degrades the cell wall by cleaving the sugar backbone of the peptidoglycan component. Specifically, lysozyme adds water to (hydrolyzes) the glycosidic bond between N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM) and N-acetylglucosamine (NAG). Lysozyme is a common constituent of biological tissues and secretions; it has been found in egg whites, tears, sweat, the digestive tract of ruminants and the hemolymph of Lepidoptera.source
Lysozyme is considered one of the world's most potent antioxidants and a key enzyme your body is supposed to be able to produce naturally. This enzyme is known for breaking the peptide bonds that the candida forms to your body.
The lysozyme protein is an enzyme naturally found in bodily fluids such as tears, breast milk and saliva. It is engaged in the body’s defense and acts by hydrolyzing the cell wall of invading bacteria.source
Something is happening to affect the production of this enzyme. This mutation(s) happen mostly with people who have a certain genetic predisposition to having the lysozyme gene turn off or produce faulty proteins that don't function properly.
Mutations can occur with lysozyme production that can prevent its effectiveness and in fact cause other serious issues.
Certain disease-associated point mutations in the gene encoding lysozyme destabilize the protein and cause it to misfold which results in systemic amyloidosis. To investigate the in vivo misfolding behavior of lysozyme we developed and established a Drosophila model of lysozyme amyloidosis. source
External factors can cause gene mutations.
From 5g wireless networks, the gmos in our food, and cell phones we all should be aware of something or another that is affecting health in our area of the world. Personally for me, I think it's these war of the world looking 5g towers and these clouds from airplanes. I didn't grow up with those.
Spontaneous mutations can occur directly as a consequence of replication errors or indirectly due to chemical damage to DNA leading to errors in the correct reading of the damaged DNA (12). The DNA can also be damaged through exposure to ionizing radiation, causing either breaks to the DNA helix, or causing the production of free electrons. Ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by DNA bases and is of enough energy to induce chemical reactions within the DNA helix, causing disruption in the base-pairing .(page 3) Understanding the dual nature of lysozyme: part villain – part hero-Linda Helmfors-PDF LINK
NOTE:
Cell Phones, 5g networks and WiFi networks are all extremely common and emit a lot of ‘non ionizing’ radiation. Note that there is an emerging argument that ‘non ionizing’ is still very harmful. The article mentioned below on this issue touches on both sides of the argument that cell phone radiation is harmful and greatly affects human gut microbes and alter DNA.
But recent, much-anticipated reports from the NIH’s National Toxicology Program — which looked at the effects of cellphone radiation in rats and mice — also concluded that non-ionizing radiation may have biological effects. “They go against the notion that non-ionizing radiation is completely harmless,” said Dr. John Bucher, a senior scientist and author on the reports. He and others point to the heating effects of non-ionizing radiation — which heat up your cellphone and your food in the microwave — and may damage tissue in harmful ways.source
Without going further into this subject and sounding like too much of a ‘anti-establishment’ fear monger, if your curious just look into the 5g spectrum and how it affects a person’s immune system and kills bugs. Links below are to help you down that rabbit hole.
https://www.thefoghornexpress.com/single-post/The-5G-Network-What-You-Dont-Know-Can-Kill-You
https://www.radiationhealthrisks.com/5g-cell-towers-dangerous/
How modern medicine treats Candidiasis.
Despite the history of Candidiasis not being treated in a focused manner, there has still been lots of medications to combat the various infections that take place.
An antifungal agent kills fungi or inhibits their growth. Antifungals that kill fungi are called fungicidal while those that merely inhibit their growth are called fungistatic. -Awanish Kumar Ph.D, Anubhuti Jhasource
There are Five classes of drugs that treat systemic Candidiasis:
The 5 classes of systemic antifungal medications include the polyenes, the azoles, a nucleoside analog, an echinocandin, and an allylamine. -David S. McKinsey, MDsource
Enter Candida Auris.
With the lack of attention directed towards Candidiasis as a medical condition that deserves priority and in combination of the rampant use of antibiotics, it has set the conditions ripe for a new Candida strain to evolve and be more resistant to antifungals; a 'Superbug' variety that is. Hospitals have been shown to be the primary source of outbreaks. Candida Auris, to this day in the America, is going largely undetected.
How Candida Auris affects the Human body.
Ear infection leading to hearing loss
Wound infections after surgery
Bloodstream infections (candidemia)
Rarely, Pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardium – the membrane enclosing the heart) in patients with recent cardiothoracic surgery. Leading to hearing loss.
Vulvovaginitis.source
However, it is more common that healthy people will not be affected but can carry Candida Auris if a hospital visit has ever occurred for said healthy person, because it is so infectious, often healthy people spread it unknowingly.
Since recent warnings issued by the CDC stated that all hospitals need to test thoroughly for the presence of Candida Auris, going back to 2016 and starting with retro tests from 2013, alarming statistics have emerged.
Candida auris is an emerging yeast that has caused healthcare-associated infections on multiple continents (1–13). The organism was first described in 2009 by Satoh et al. for a patient in Japan (14). In November 2016, Vallabhaneni et al. (11) reported cases in the United States. Identification of C. auris requires specialized laboratory techniques (15–17). It is often resistant to antifungal medications (18), causes invasive infections (1,4,5) and outbreaks (8,10), and has become endemic to hospitals in some parts of the world (2,5,6). Therefore, its detection in New York, USA, healthcare facilities is concerning. We describe an ongoing outbreak of healthcare-associated C. auris cases involving multiple healthcare facilities in New York City (NYC), New York, USA, during 2013–2017.
source
But in that standard scenario, the yeast that has gone rogue only infects the person it was residing in. C. auris breaks that pattern. It has developed the ability to survive on cool external skin and cold inorganic surfaces, which allows it to linger on the hands of healthcare workers and on the doorknobs and counters and computer keys of a hospital room. With that assist, it can travel from its original host to new victims, passing from person to person in outbreaks that last for weeks or months.source
Antibiotics do not help.
Various studies have shown antibiotic use can actually increase the odds of becoming more susceptible to mammals who take antibiotics.
The first thing to note is that Candida albicans effectively colonized the guts of those mice which had had been given antibiotics, and whose gut flora had therefore been significantly disturbed. In fact, the Candida colonies in these mice were still evident after a full 90 days. On the other hand, the mice with a healthy gut flora (i.e. no antibiotics) were able to fight off the Candida much more effectively. After 21 days, these antibiotic-free mice had totally eliminated Candida albicans from their guts.
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Remarkably, it only took a very small amount of Candida albicans to infect and colonize the guts of the mice who had taken antibiotics. Now, Candida albicans is not usually present in mice, but it exists in the intestines of something like 70-80% of humans. Although this study was conducted on mice and not humans, it is easy to see how a course of broad spectrum antibiotics might enable the Candida colonies to quickly bloom and dominate the gut.source
When was Candida Auris first discovered?
In 2009 a woman in Japan had a chronic ear infection and after doctors swabbed her ear they identified a new type of yeast from the Candida family, Candida Auris. Further testing has shown its presence in the world going back to 1996 in South Korea.
C. auris was first identified in 2009 in Japan. Retrospective review of Candida strain collections found that the earliest known strain of C. auris dates to 1996 in South Korea. CDC considers C. auris an emerging pathogen because increasing numbers of infections have been identified in multiple countries since it was recognized.source
Candida Auris is considered a yeast originating from the South Asia region. Over a 13 year period or longer went by before Candida Auris was properly Identified. I'm not sure what the fate was of the 70 year old woman who first contracted Candida Auris but we do have a research paper on this event.
It was not until 2016 that Candida Auris was first detected in The United States of America. Twice in that year the CDC gave dire warnings of this new drug resistant strain of candida. After hospitals, namely in the New York state area, started testing for this new drug resistant strain and doing retro reviews on past Candida cases, it was discovered that Candida Auris had in fact been in the United States since at least 2013.
It turns out the CDC did lump Candida infections into a warning statement for drug resistant bacterias and yeasts, namely concerning excessive antibiotic use/prescriptions.
In 2013, CDC issued a report describing antibiotic resistance threats in the United States that needed prompt action, including Candida infections. CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network is providing additional lab support in four regional laboratories to test fungal susceptibility of Candida species and identify emerging resistance. source
The Misdiagnosis of Candida Auris.
Because standard testing procedures and classification methods of various Candida yeasts were designed for known strains of Candida that cause disease in humans, this particular strain of Candida flew under the radar for over a decade or longer.
Candida auris is a multidrug resistant, emerging agent of fungemia in humans. Its actual global distribution remains obscure as the current commercial methods of clinical diagnosis misidentify it as C. haemulonii. source
Doctors in general are not very good at diagnosing fungal infections because their medical school training is based so heavily on the role of bacteria and viruses in the area of infectious diseases. Fungi have been a forgotten foe ever since the advent of antibiotics. Once we had a drug that could [supposedly] kill bacteria, the interest in and the study of fungi fell to the wayside.
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Laboratories display the same difficulty in diagnosing fungal infections: current tests for detecting the presence of fungi are both terribly scant and sorely antiquated.source
The rise of Candida auris as a superbug represents a paradigm shift, because, in the words of Dr. Tom M. Chiller, it’s a yeast that acts like a bacteria.
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...Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) or DNA sequencing are required to make the diagnosis. “It turns out that only about 25% of clinical labs have MALDI-TOF available, so we’re still lacking in our ability to identify it,” he said.source
Luckily, in 2013 the FDA approved a method for testing Candida Auris. It involved a machine with high accuracy rate and speed of identification. The CDC is assisting with making this testing procedure more readily available through their regional testing centers.
The test, first approved by the FDA in 2013, uses a technology known as matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry to determine the unique protein fingerprint of a microorganism cultured from a patient, then matches those fingerprints to a reference organism database to identify 424 clinically relevant bacteria and yeast species. MALDI-TOF can provide results in less than an hour, while conventional methods of species identification usually take 24 to 48 hours.source
Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry method is still new and needs to be implemented on a wider scale by hospitals.
The first step in controlling C. auris is identification. C. auris can be misidentified when using traditional biochemical methods. They are most commonly misidentified as Candida haemulonii. Currently, accurate identification for C. auris can be performed by Vitek MS and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight using research use–only databases. Hospitalists should be aware of the diagnostic instruments used in their hospital laboratories and their ability to detect C. auris. Clinical laboratories should request testing of suspect C. auris isolates from their state or regional public health laboratory or the CDC. Laboratories should also consider reviewing historical microbiology records for suspect isolates (e.g., C. haemulonii) to identify missed cases of C. auris.source
Conclusion
There are many reasons to take any form of Candidiasis very seriously. From very serious links to cancer and HIV to commonly misdiagnosed candida conditions that allowed for multi-drug resistant strains to emerge, immediate focus and action needs to be taken by ALL hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Despite the warnings for multidrug resistant yeasts by the CDC in various ways for years, only 25% of most testing labs have access to the equipment capable of testing for these evolved strains of Candida, namely Candida Auris. The CDC has tried to warn the USA and it's hospitals of this issue. Truly, the CDC has tried to warn us about this new threat in America.
CDC Lab centers can provide better access for your doctor's lab with equipment that can best identify unknown yeast and bacteria strains, primarily ones that are drug resistant or require a specific type of antifungal.
Luckily, preventive measures can be taken through diet and being aware of environmental conditions that maybe compromising your immune system. However, once infection is suspected, proper identification of the specific strain(s) infecting you is critical. You want to minimize the use of broad spectrum antifungals in the case of not being able to properly identify the strain(s) infecting you.
Genetic testing should also be considered to not overlook key gene mutations that prevent your body from naturally fighting off candidiasis and possibly causing other serious health issues.
The candida diet is a key positive lifestyle change that can have a huge impact at any stage of a possible candida infestation. It typically calls for elimination of sugars, carbohydrates and fibers with the majority of your food intake being alkaline forms. It's not FDA approved that I know of and it is not considered a ‘cure'. There are different variations of this diet by some people. Dr. Axe, in my opinion, has a very thorough article on The Candida Diet to reference from:
Thank you for making it this far. I hope this comes to you in good health. Hopefully, this Steemit post can help anyone reading this further educate themselves and others on this little known issue. This is just to help bring awareness to something that I feel is a very serious issue. Always do the research yourself and seek professional help and a second professional opinion when facing a serious health issue.
Always consult a doctor before self treating any medical conditions. This post is not from a medical doctor or professional. This is just an attempt at trying to help pass on information.