Illinois Is #2 In The Nation In Superbug Infection Cases
The CDC is issuing a warning about a superbug infection that is impacting people across the country with confirmed cases in Illinois.
As Joe Dredge told you in his post yesterday, it's called Candida auris and it is being described as a super fungus that is drug-resistant to some medications, and preys on people with weakened immune systems by infecting the bloodstream.
The CDC said it is difficult to identify with standard technology and difficult to treat. Illinois has a quarter of the nation's reported cases with 154. 95 were in the Chicago area, 56 in Cook County. It has NOT reached Winnebago county.
Healthy people usually do not get this infection and symptoms are hard to detect because people with the infection are often already sick in the hospital with another serious illness, according to the CDC.
The CDC also said the infection can spread through contact with contaminated healthcare surfaces or equipment, or from person to person.