Smelling smelly socks can infect "super fungi"?

"All kinds of antifungal drugs are ineffective", "60% mortality rate" and "new threat to public health" ... A kind of Candida albicans called "super fungus" has recently screened friends' circle, causing some netizens to panic. Can smelly socks be infected with super fungi? What exactly is a "super fungus"? Is it necessary for us to panic about this? This article will talk to you about the truth of super fungi. On April 9th, Science and Technology Daily quoted the American media as saying that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pointed out that the superfungus, Candida albicans, appeared in many places around the world, and it may spread through blood. Among them, the United States recently found more than 500 patients, and nearly 50% of the infected people died within 90 days. Because some candida auricula have the characteristics of multiple drug resistance and high mortality after blood infection, and they can still grow well at 42℃, they are called "super fungi". This fungus was first reported by scientists at the Fungal Research Center of Imperial University of Japan. In 2005, they isolated a new pathogenic fungus from the external auditory canal secretion of a 70-year-old female patient, and reported this fungus in 2009. This fungus belongs to a kind of Candida, because it is found in the ear canal, so the subject name is Candida auris (Chinese ear rosary, Candida is Candida, auris is the Latin meaning of ear). Since then, as the standard strain of Candida auricula, the strain has been preserved in the preservation tissues of major strains in the world. Candida is a normal skin flora, which can cause diseases under certain conditions (such as excessive humidity, abnormal flora and host immunosuppression). Candidiasis can be manifested as skin wrinkles, such as erythema, desquamation and itching spots in groin and armpit, as well as skin lesions of mucosa, nail ring or corners of the mouth. Since the first case was reported in 2009, Candida auratus has appeared in many parts of the world. According to the data of molecular phylogenetic analysis, Candida auricula strains isolated from different parts of the world so far are divided into four main branches: 1 South Asia (India/Pakistan/Malaysia), South Africa, South America and East Asia (Japan/Korea). Because the structural diversity of genes among different evolutionary branches is greater than that of other Candida species, theoretically, Candida auricula strains that have recently spread globally belong to independent diffusion. Simply put, the super fungi in the United States and China are different in gene sequence. Superfungi in China are sensitive to antifungal drugs, and commonly used antifungal drugs can control the disease. Viruses, bacteria and fungi? Stupid not to see? We often hear about bacterial and viral colds in our lives, and we often see the word "superbug". Is it a bit confusing to have a "super fungus" this time? The word "super" here can be simply understood as: microorganisms (such as bacteria, viruses and some parasites) have the ability to prevent antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antiviral drugs and antimalarials) from acting on them, making standard treatment methods ineffective. "Superbacteria" does not refer specifically to a certain kind of bacteria, but generally refers to those bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics, also known as "multi-drug-resistant bacteria" in medicine. Now, let's briefly talk about the difference between virus, bacteria and fungi: virus is a kind of acellular microorganism, with tiny body, simple structure, no formed nucleus, nucleosome and nuclear membrane, and no other organelles except nucleosome; Bacteria have no nucleus surrounded by nuclear membrane and belong to prokaryotic microorganisms. Bacteria are widely distributed in soil and water, or live with other organisms. Fungi are eukaryotes, neither plants nor animals. Although it was once classified as a plant, it is now classified as an independent biological class. Some fungi can only be observed under a microscope, such as yeast such as Candida and mold such as Aspergillus. Others are visible to the naked eye, such as bread mold and mushrooms. Fungi can be round (such as yeast) or spindle-shaped (mycelium). After the virus infects the human body, it needs to enter the host cell for proliferation, and after the bacteria enter the host body, they use the components of the host cell to complete their own proliferation. Fungi are fixed in human cells, mucous membranes or skin folds, and their hyphae grow and branch. Ordinary fungal infections are actually very common in daily life. Fungal infections are usually divided into opportunistic infections or primary infections. Fungi are mostly conditional pathogens, which means that their pathogenicity is weak. When the host's immunity is healthy, they usually do not cause disease, but only when the host's immunity is low. The causes of low host immunity include AIDS, diabetes, lymphoma, leukemia, other malignant tumors in the blood system, burns, and the treatment of corticosteroids, immunosuppressants and antimetabolites. Patients who have been hospitalized in ICU for a long time are prone to infection because of medical operation, their own potential diseases, malnutrition and other reasons. Primary fungal infection mainly occurs in the host with normal immune function. These infections often cause focal pneumonia due to inhalation of fungal spores, which becomes the manifestation of primary fungal infection. Fungal infection can be manifested as local or systemic infection. Focal infections are mainly found in skin (fungal infection of skin), oral cavity (stomatitis) and vagina (candidal vaginitis). Systemic infection can endanger internal organs, especially the lungs. The outbreak of Candida auricula is a systemic infection, which is characterized by skin mucosal lesions, fungal diseases and focal infections in many parts. With the gradual increase of temperature, a common fungal infection-tinea pedis has returned to our field of vision. Beriberi, commonly known as beriberi, is a fungal infection. Because there are no sebaceous glands between people's soles and toes, they lack fatty acids that inhibit fungi, and their physiological defense function is poor. However, the skin is rich in sweat glands and sweats more in summer. Coupled with poor air circulation and local humidity and warmth, it is conducive to the growth of filamentous fungi. In addition, the cuticle of the sole is thick, and the keratin in the cuticle is rich in nutrients for fungi, which also provides suitable conditions for the growth of fungi. Therefore, we should try to choose breathable shoes in summer, pay attention to cleaning, keep the skin dry, keep the feet clean and prevent beriberi. A "super fungus" attack? What should I pay attention to? Candida auricula is an invasive fungus, because it can invade blood, heart, brain and other important organs of human body, and ultimately endanger human health. But Candida auricula is a typical nosocomial infection, which mostly occurs in hospital facilities, and the healthy general public is not a susceptible population. Infected patients mostly appear in ICU, belonging to people with extremely low autoimmune. However, the super fungi found in China are actually sensitive to antifungal drugs used in clinic, so you don't have to worry too much. Compared with this, I wonder if you still remember a piece of news last year? According to news reports, the 909th Hospital of Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province received such a patient. At first, the patient said that he often coughed and had difficulty breathing. The hospital took a film and treated it as common pneumonia. After a week of treatment, the condition deteriorated. It was only after lung puncture that the man was found to have fungal infection in his lungs. After the type of fungal infection was finally determined, the man's condition gradually began to improve. When asked about the cause of fungal infection, the patient's doctor explained that the patient usually stayed up late to look after the baby. Although the environment at home is very clean, there is only one small problem. He habitually takes off his socks and smells bad. Mainly because this patient suffers from beriberi, he often stays up late eating irregularly, and his resistance becomes weak, which leads to pulmonary fungal infection. Fungal pneumonia is not as simple as beriberi itching. So pay attention to hygiene, wash your hands frequently, and wash your socks and clothes separately. In addition, diabetic patients must not ignore the beriberi problem. If the blood sugar of diabetes is not well controlled, it is easy to infect tinea pedis because of high blood sugar level, which is more difficult to cure. Diabetes can lead to microangiopathy and neuropathy, and minor injuries or tinea of foot skin may develop into persistent chronic ulcers. Although beriberi is not necessarily related to diabetic foot, it is the inducing factor of diabetic foot. Pay attention to hygiene, enhance immunity and keep diseases away from you. "Superfungi can be deadly" sounds terrible, but it is far from our general healthy population, so don't worry too much. The susceptible population of super fungi is people with severely impaired immunity, such as patients with tumor radiotherapy and chemotherapy, patients with long-term indwelling catheter and so on. Ordinary people don't need to worry too much about them. In the face of the attack of "super fungi", we should also pay attention to the sanitary conditions of ourselves and the environment, correct bad living habits, improve immunity and keep diseases away from health. Besides smelling smelly socks in daily life, what other bad habits and factors can easily lead to fungal infection? Welcome everyone to leave a message. References:1.plospatog.2017may; 13(5): e 1006290。 Candida auricula: a rapid cause of nosocomial multidrug-resistant fungal infection in the world. Anuradha Chowdhary et al 2. Candida infection in the ear canal? The first emerging infectious disease caused by fungi is hide yo Yamaguchi 20 17 Title: Infectious Disease 2 13 Author: Zhang Pu, Ph.D., Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan (middle) Reviewer: Lu Zhong, a researcher at the Institute of Microbiology, Osaka University, Japan Editor: The article was published by the team of Tencent Popular Science "Popular Science China Headline Creation and Promotion Project". 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