Posted on 06/02/2017 11:44:11 AM PDT by Cementjungle
There has been an interesting situation going on lately, and its a little bit alarming.
Hospitals have been experiencing cases of "Candida Auris", which is a fungal infection. If the fungus gets into the blood it is potentially fatal. Symptoms include fatigue, sore throat, ear infections, etc.
My wife and I both had hospital visits last Fall, and we have both had these symptoms for the past 7 months or so. My wife saw an ENT in November who declared that she had throat cancer so she went to a family friend in Los Angeles who is a top oncologist. He determined that she does not have throat (or any other) cancer, but she has a fungal infection in the throat. Medications however failed to end it.
We both saw an infectious disease specialist in April and were sent to Quest Diagnostics for a blood culture test to look for this fungus. Here's where it starts to get a bit weird:
The infectious disease specialist tells us "we're fine". When asked to see the blood test results, she insists that they're on our patient portal. The patient portal shows "Culture, Blood" and the date, but is blank under the results section. We keep asking to see the results, but we keep getting the same response.
Both my wife and I also have accounts on Quest's "MyQuest" site where we can see all results from all our past tests. There is nothing one either of ours showing results for this blood culture test. I have tried repeatedly to contact Quest about this and keep getting the same response: "The results are on your MyQuest site". I send them screenshots showing various other tests and results, but they have nothing on this one... they keep stonewalling.
A little research shows some interesting background on this condition:
June 2016: CDC issues alert to healthcare facilities CDC Alert
Nov 2016: EPA is still trying to find a disinfectant that can control this fungus EPA notice
April 2017: CDC fears "Catastrophic Threat" from this: article
The CDC has told labs who do testing for this fungus to report any cases directly to the CDC or state health officials. This might explain why they might be rebuffing all my efforts to get my own test results.
What is known so far:
1. This fungus is potentially fatal.
2. There is no cure for the fungus
3. There is no known disinfectant to control the fungus in hospitals/clinics
4. The government is "working on it"
Quest often won’t put results on your portal until weeks after the test. Also, as you found out, Quest has designed itself to deliberately have zero customer service. It’s impossible to contact Quest in any meaningful way and certainly impossible to get Quest to respond in any meaningful way.
Quest has provided other test results (tests unrelated to this one) that were done after this one. The doctor got the results from them weeks ago, but so far won't let me see them. And yes, Quest is pretty impossible to communicate with.
I have called the CDC... he said "we aren't aware of any laws that would force anyone to show you your results." I said "Well, don't HIPPA laws do that?". He said "Well, yes you're right... you're better off trying the Florida health department".
I tried the FL health department, and as with all government things in FL they're useless.
There doesn’t seem to be a ‘ground zero’ for C. auris, as cases have appeared in different geographical locations somewhat simultaneously. The following is from an article that came out yesterday:
“Most cases of C. auris that have been reported have been from the blood,” Tsay wrote in an email, though she noted that it has also been seen in urine, the respiratory tract, wounds, bile fluid and the ear.
“The fact that it has been found in other sites may also reflect its ability to persist on a patient’s body and be spread in the environment around them — one of (the) reasons that C. auris is causing outbreaks,” Tsay said.”
“Another concern is that testing of patients’ rooms identified C. auris on mattresses, beds, windowsills, chairs, infusion pumps and countertops. This ability to linger on the surfaces of health care environments and spread between patients is unlike most of the other 20 species of Candida that cause infections in humans.”
“After a thorough cleaning with a sodium hypochlorite-based disinfectant, the fungus could not be found in the rooms of patients infected with C. auris.”
DR. MERCOLA has excellent articles on candida albicans http://www.drmercola.com/results/?q=Candida%20Auris
Infectious Disease Ping - ( Candida auris , a fungus that acts like a yeast) at:
At : www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3554878/posts
" Good article pointing out political and medical issues vs. financial expenditures.
in what "Acting Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Anne Schuchat calls it a "catastrophic threat ", with no ($$) follow through . "
If they have to close places down due to the superbug, then t might be a risk to the public who needs to use the facility for other things (heart attacks, accidents, etc.). And, of course if a hospital has to close for any period of time it costs them a lot of money.
http://13wham.com/news/top-stories/superbug-fungus-reported-at-rochester-hospital
What about non pharmaceutical antifungals?
If you’re worried, it might help to kill the sugar and starch in the diet for a week or two and build your immune system:
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin B-12
Omega-3 fish oil
Vinegar/honey
Cranberries
Yogurt
Grapefruit seed extract
Garlic and Thyme (spaghetti!)
Coconut oil/drop of clove gargle
Peanut Butter*
Coconut oil* light drizzle on sweet potatoes
* note medication precautions: https://www.verywell.com/caprylic-acid-89017
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