Hong Kong battling potentially deadly superbug authorities say could have spread because isolation facilities are being used in fight against Covid-19
- Hospital Authority says there have been 136 cases of fungal infection Candida auris so far this year, compared to 20 in whole of 2019
- Patients have between 30 and 60 per cent chance of dying if infected by bug, which targets oral cavity, digestive tract, skin, and vagina
Hong Kong health officials are battling to control the spread of a potentially fatal drug-resistant superbug they believe has swept through the city’s public hospitals and elderly care homes because of the coronavirus.
On Friday, Dr Raymond Lai, the Hospital Authority’s chief infection control officer, called the outbreak worrying, and said he was working to stop Candida auris, a fungal infection, spreading to the community.
According to the authority, there were 136 cases reported in the city in the first 10 months of this year, compared to 20 in the whole of 2019.
Patients have between a 30 and 60 per cent chance of dying, depending on which part of the body is infected. The authority did not say how many of this year’s cases had proved fatal.
“We hope to control the fungus within the hospitals and elderly homes, so it won’t be spread to the community,” he said.
Lai said a shortage of isolation facilities in the city’s public hospitals because of the pandemic could have contributed to a dramatic increase in the number of patients becoming infected.