Over the past year, hundreds of cases of Candida auris have been reported in multiple U.S. states. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that this antimicrobial-resistant fungus spread rapidly during the pandemic.
Candida auris is “an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat” that “spread at an alarming rate in U.S. healthcare facilities in 2020-2021,” per the CDC.
It can “spread through contact with contaminated environmental surfaces or equipment, or from person to person,” though the CDC noted more research in needed to examine how the C.auris spreads.
Scientists believe the fungus has been circulating since at least 1996, though it was first identified in 2009 and the first U.S. case was found in 2016. U.S. cases are typically spread within healthcare facilities. Patients who have feeding tubes or catheters appear to be at a higher risk for infection.
“Since it was first reported in 2016, with a total of 3,270 clinical cases (in which infection is present) and 7,413 screening cases (in which the fungus is detected but not causing infection) reported through December 31, 2021,” the CDC said.
Fungal infections have been a hot topic this year with the release of “The Last of Us” on HBO, a dystopian TV show that is centered around a fungal pandemic. While the C. auris doesn’t turn people into zombies like the fictionalized version of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus in the show, it can still be serious.
Once a patient has a C. auris yeast infection, the fungus can enter the bloodstream and cause serious and potentially invasive infections, the CDC explained.
“One of the challenges here is there’s not a big financial incentive for these type of medicines, antifungals, new antibiotics,” said Louisiana State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter of the potential threat of C. auris during an interview with Audacy station WWL last month. “The financial incentives are for medicines that people need to take every day for a long period of time.”
As the U.S. government prepares to end a national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic in May, cases of C. auris are high in several states.
State health departments provide information about the fungus to the CDC each month. According to data from the past 12-month period, states with the highest numbers of Candida auris clinical cases were:
1. Nevada – 384
2. California – 359
3. Florida – 349
4. New York – 326
5. Illinois – 276
6. Texas – 160
“The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasizes the need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control,” said CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman, per a Monday press release.
Although most C. auris infections can be treated with a class of antifungal drugs called echinocandins, some are resistant to the medication. In these cases, patients may be treated with high doses of multiple classes of antifungals.
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