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A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

nytimes.com

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Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#31

Post by aaronbrethorst »

fzeroracer wrote: post #27
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about the idea that you can make tea from the leaves and bark of a willow tree, and use it to treat fevers and aches and pains? Does that sound like a ridiculous folk remedy?

If you want to be remarkably disengenous and take my argument out of context, sure. But I will not stand for people recommending alternative medicine for absolutely everything. I already had to deal with a family member doing just that, forcing random concoctions of nonsense onto a family member suffering from cancer and attempting to divert them from actual treatment. Especially when they act like they're better tha…

But I will not stand for people recommending alternative medicine for absolutely everything

I totally agree. The anti-vaxxers, for instance, are incredibly dangerous not just to the health of individuals, but to modern civilization.

My point is that just because something is a folk remedy, or predates the invention of the scientific method, doesn't mean it's inherently without value. Rigorous scientific studies can and should be done on these sorts of things—I don't think anyone should blindly accept a folk remedy, especially one contraindicated by proper research.

But there is a certain dismissiveness amongst many folks like us of anything not invented by the pharmaceutical industry that may do us all a disservice.

Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#32

Post by simias »

microcolonel wrote: post #22
Tharkun wrote: post #16

Is this becoming a serious problem? Or is this just getting more press attention suddenly? We've had outbreaks and near-hysteria of various sorts (HIV, SARS, swine flu etc). But those seem orders of magnitude easier to manage than this fungal infection. You don't need to tear down hospital rooms after an HIV patient spent time in it.

The cases are accelerating, and the information is actively being suppressed from the public (for what they see as good reasons, I guess). Something tells me that candida auris will change the way hospitals are built and maintained.

>The cases are accelerating, and the information is actively being suppressed from the public (for what they see as good reasons, I guess).

Do you have any sources for these claims or is this tinfoil-hattery? What would be these "good reasons" for suppressing information? And if the information is unavailable, how do you know that "the cases are accelerating"?

Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#33

Post by jMyles »

fzeroracer wrote: post #7
jMyles wrote: post #5

There is a comment in this thread downvoted and killed, but I think it's not an entirely unreasonable question - and it's possible that someone here knows the answer: > Did anybody tried to apply blackseed and garlic light deep - fried coconut oil concoction? Just curious, sharing as it is our sub tropical Assam-Burma jungle traditional remedy for anything and everything fungal infection since time immemorial.

I'm wondering if they tried chicken noodle soup. That's been my family's home remedy for sickness and considering we seem to get better after every cold, it has a 100% success rate. To be less sardonic, it's an unreasonable question because it has zero scientific basis. I've had naturopathic family members attempt to give things to children that were definitely not safe in any shape or form.

I'm with you on the desire for scientific rigor. My point wasn't that the remedy mentioned in the comment per se has merit, but that the discussion is probably better without it being killed.

Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#34

Post by DoreenMichele »

Tharkun wrote: post #16

Is this becoming a serious problem? Or is this just getting more press attention suddenly? We've had outbreaks and near-hysteria of various sorts (HIV, SARS, swine flu etc). But those seem orders of magnitude easier to manage than this fungal infection. You don't need to tear down hospital rooms after an HIV patient spent time in it.

Antifungal resistant fungal infections are common in the Cystic Fibrosis community. I haven't participated for several years on any CF lists, but I used to be on several.

I checked my old emails. There is zero mention of candida auris.

This appears to be fairly new and becoming very serious, from what I gather.

(Updated to say "antifungal.")

Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#35

Post by true_tuna »

simias wrote: post #32
microcolonel wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cases are accelerating, and the information is actively being suppressed from the public (for what they see as good reasons, I guess). Something tells me that candida auris will change the way hospitals are built and maintained.

>The cases are accelerating, and the information is actively being suppressed from the public (for what they see as good reasons, I guess). Do you have any sources for these claims or is this tinfoil-hattery? What would be these "good reasons" for suppressing information? And if the information is unavailable, how do you know that "the cases are accelerating"?

The linked articles explicitly say that hospitals are not publicizing the infections because they want to avoid panic. Previously rare fungal infection showing up in five hospitals is a pretty significant uptick.

The fact that it’s extraordinarily hard to eradicate is notable as well. One of the linked articles mentioned having to tear out ceiling tiles and flooring to get at it.

Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#36

Post by aaronbrethorst »

simias wrote: post #32
microcolonel wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cases are accelerating, and the information is actively being suppressed from the public (for what they see as good reasons, I guess). Something tells me that candida auris will change the way hospitals are built and maintained.

>The cases are accelerating, and the information is actively being suppressed from the public (for what they see as good reasons, I guess). Do you have any sources for these claims or is this tinfoil-hattery? What would be these "good reasons" for suppressing information? And if the information is unavailable, how do you know that "the cases are accelerating"?

With bacteria and fungi alike, hospitals and local governments are reluctant to disclose outbreaks for fear of being seen as infection hubs. Even the C.D.C., under its agreement with states, is not allowed to make public the location or name of hospitals involved in outbreaks. State governments have in many cases declined to publicly share information beyond acknowledging that they have had cases.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/health/drug-resistant-can...

Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#37

Post by shawnz »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #13
fzeroracer wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm wondering if they tried chicken noodle soup. That's been my family's home remedy for sickness and considering we seem to get better after every cold, it has a 100% success rate. To be less sardonic, it's an unreasonable question because it has zero scientific basis. I've had naturopathic family members attempt to give things to children that were definitely not safe in any shape or form.

How about the idea that you can make tea from the leaves and bark of a willow tree, and use it to treat fevers and aches and pains? Does that sound like a ridiculous folk remedy?

At that time, before Aspirin was demonstrated to be an effective cure, I'd say it would have indeed been ridiculous to use it outside an experimental setting.

Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#38

Post by djsumdog »

Tharkun wrote: post #16

Is this becoming a serious problem? Or is this just getting more press attention suddenly? We've had outbreaks and near-hysteria of various sorts (HIV, SARS, swine flu etc). But those seem orders of magnitude easier to manage than this fungal infection. You don't need to tear down hospital rooms after an HIV patient spent time in it.

The article indicates it's been deadly for the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. In the case of this patient, it probably entered the bloodstream via a catheter.

It's probably difficult for it to infect people from skin contact.

Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#39

Post by jniedrauer »

jawilson2 wrote: post #14
clucas wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Per the article, the fungus was in her bloodstream - I think mainlining fried coconut oil is probably contraindicated.

I can see you've never tried a keto diet.

MCT oil is an acquired taste.

Re: A Chicago woman fell victim to Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus

#40

Post by ralph84 »

dmix wrote: post #24
ummonk wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not the contention. The contention is that concoctions that have been developed by people who have experimented with home remedies for centuries should be clinically tested (e.g. by administering to someone with a drug-resistant fungal infection) to see whether they might be effective.

Who is holding scientists back from doing this exactly?

Pharmaceutical research tends to focus on patentable molecules, not unpatentable plants.
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