Deadly Fungus Is Spreading Rapidly In Florida
A deadly fungus is spreading rapidly in Florida. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning about the urgent antimicrobial fungus making its way through the more than half of the United States.
It is called Candida auris, or C. auris. The reason it is so concerning is because it is often resistant to anti-fungal drugs, making it hard to treat infections. It can also be hard to identify with standard lab tests, making it even more difficult to treat properly and early.
This fungus was first detected in the U.S. in 2016. The fungus started spreading quickly between 2020 and 2021 in health care facilities and has continued to spread in 2022. By the end of 2022, there were more than 8,000 instances of Candida auris identified across 28 states.
There is no information on how it spreads or how to prevent being infected by C. auris according to Wfla.com
Who Is Affected
There isn’t a significant threat to healthy people, however its more of a risk in health care settings. The fungus can enter patients’ bloodstreams and cause severe, deadly infections.
Sick people, those staying in the hospital long-term, and patients with invasive medical devices (like catheters or IVs) are most vulnerable.
Sarasota One Of Three Tampa Bay Cities That Rank Worst For Allergies
Sarasota is one of three Tampa Bay cities that rank worst for allergies. So, if you have been sneezing and sniffling than you are in the right place. The report comes from Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The report looked at the Top 100 populated cities in the United States. They looked at five different areas to rank the cities: Tree, grass, and weed pollen scores, over-the-counter allergy medicine use and availability of board-certified allergists/immunologists.
Tampa Bay allergies are pretty bad and Florida has seven cities in the Top 20. Florida doesn’t have the #1 city as that belongs to Wichita, Kansas. Wichita ranks first in weed, grass and tree pollen. Sarasota ranks third in tree pollen. Orlando ranks fifth in weed pollen.
The AAFA says about the report, “The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has produced Allergy Capitals reports since 2003 to help people recognize, prevent, and manage seasonal allergies. Since that first report, seasonal allergies have worsened.”
Over 100 million American deals with allergies every year. There are a couple of tips the AAFA has for people that deal with allergies. One is, check pollen counts or forecasts daily. Another is, change and wash clothes after outdoor activities. Check out the report for more tips.
Finally, check out the Top cities below.
[SOURCE: WTSP]
1 - Wichita, KS
As mentioned above this is consensus #1 city in the United States. They rank #1 in weed, grass and tree pollen.
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2 - Dallas, TX
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Dallas ranks high in tree and grass pollen, but not in weed pollen.
5 - Tulsa, OK
Tulsa ranks Top 10 in all three pollen categories.
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9 - Des Moines, IA
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10 - Greenville, SC
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11 - Virginia Beach, VA
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13 - Little Rock, AR
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15 - Lakeland, FL
Lakeland makes the list because it ranks in the Top 20 for grass and weed pollen.
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16 - Raleigh, NC
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19 - Greensboro, NC
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20 - Rochester, NY
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