什么是念珠菌?

什么是念珠菌?

An infectious, drug-resistant fungus that kills about half of the people it infects is spreading around the globe, including the United States.

一种具有传染性和抗药性的真菌正在全球范围内传播，其中包括美国。

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there are 685 cases confirmed in the U.S. of the serious and sometimes deadly fungal infection Candida auris. The infection is often spread in health care settings.

美国疾病控制和预防中心(CDC)报告说，美国确诊了685例严重的、有时是致命的真菌感染念珠菌。这种感染通常在卫生保健机构传播。

The CDC is concerned about C. auris because it's often resistant to the antifungal drugs commonly used to treat other Candida infections. It's also difficult to identify and diagnose with standard testing methods, leading to inappropriate, ineffective treatment.

美国疾病控制与预防中心对金耳菌很担心，因为它通常对治疗其他念珠菌感染的抗真菌药物有抗药性。使用标准的检测方法也难以识别和诊断，导致治疗不合适、无效。

Although anyone can be susceptible to an infection, risk factors include patients with diabetes or who've had recent surgery or central venous catheter placement or those using broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungals. It targets people with weakened immune systems such as the elderly and infants.

尽管任何人都可能受到感染，但危险因素包括糖尿病患者、近期做过手术的患者、中心静脉导管置入患者、使用广谱抗生素和抗真菌药物的患者。它的目标人群是免疫系统较弱的人，如老人和婴儿。

C.auris was first identified in Japan in 2009, where it was found in the ear canal of a patient who complained of an ear infection. Although "auris" is the Latin word for ear, the fungus can affect many other regions of the body, according to the CDC.

2009年在日本首次发现金耳菌，当时在一名抱怨耳朵感染的病人的耳道中发现了金耳菌。尽管“auris”在拉丁语中是耳朵的意思，但疾病控制与预防中心表示，这种真菌可以影响身体的许多其他部位。

C. auris can last on surfaces like chairs and bedrails for a long time, which allows it to spread easily in health care settings. (Photo: Syda Productions/Shutterstock)

Fungal infections are rare in humans because most fungi can't grow in temperatures as warm as the human body. In researching relatives of C. auris, Casadevall’s team were led to believe that this fungus may have adapted to higher temperatures.

真菌感染在人类中很少见，因为大多数真菌不能在像人体一样温暖的温度下生长。在研究金耳菌的亲戚时，Casadevall团队相信这种真菌可能已经适应了更高的温度。

"What this study suggests is this is the beginning of fungi adapting to higher temperatures, and we are going to have more and more problems as the century goes on," said Casadevall in a statement. "Global warming will lead to selection of fungal lineages that are more thermally tolerant, such that they can breach the mammalian thermal restriction zone."

Casadevall在一份声明中说:“这项研究表明，这是真菌适应更高温度的开始，随着本世纪的发展，我们将面临越来越多的问题。全球变暖将导致真菌谱系的选择更加耐热，这样它们就能突破哺乳动物的热限制区。”

A strain of Candida auris cultured in a petri dish at the CDC. (Photo: CDC)

The fungus has now been reported in more than 30 countries including Canada, Colombia, India, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, Pakistan, South Africa, South Korea, Venezuela and the United Kingdom.

目前已有30多个国家报告了这种真菌，包括加拿大、哥伦比亚、印度、以色列、肯尼亚、科威特、巴基斯坦、南非、韩国、委内瑞拉和英国。