Infectious diseases are spreading rampantly throughout nursing homes. The main disease in question, Candida auris, is resistant to many antibiotics and has a high mortality rate. According to The New York Times, half of all patients who contract C. auris die within three months.
C. auris is a relatively new disease that did not reach humans until 2009. It is especially easy to spread in nursing homes because common disinfectants used in hospitals are not strong enough to kill it. C. auris enters through a patient’s bloodstream. Patients in nursing homes are at especially high risk because they take many antibiotics.
Lack of cleaning and sufficient hygiene means C. auris gets passed around the facility. The SHIELD Orange County Project conducted a study that found most facilities are not aware their patients are carrying C. auris and other diseases like it. There must be more prevention to stop the spread of diseases in long-term care facilities, the study said.
The shortage of medical staff in nursing homes makes it impossible to properly regulate these facilities. Many employees do not wear proper clothing to protect themselves from the infection. When janitors clean rooms without basic equipment, such as gloves, the disease spreads more easily. At some facilities, nurses do not wear masks.
The Center for Disease Control recommends taking swabs from an infected patient’s skin immediately. Because of how hard it is is to eradicate, the CDC recommends using a 10 percent bleach solution to thoroughly clean labs and other places the disease was present.
They also recommend thoroughly sanitizing the hands and body after coming in contact with an infected patient. Above all, infected patients must stay in single rooms.
Properly preventing this deadly disease ultimately means taking proper precautions.
To learn more, click these links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/health/nursing-homes-fungus.html
https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/candida-auris/c-auris-infection-control.html
