A drug-resistant fungus, Candida auris, is spreading at an alarming rate in healthcare facilities, prompting urgent warnings from health authorities. First discovered in 2009, the yeast-type fungus can cause severe bloodstream infections and affect the nervous system and internal organs, with mortality rates estimated between 30% and 53% by the World Health Organization.
The fungus is often resistant to common antifungal drugs, and some strains are resistant to all available treatments. According to Dr Tina Joshi, associate professor at the University of Plymouth, identifying C. auris infections is difficult, and they can be mistaken for other fungi, leading to incorrect treatment. Dr Neil Stone, a fungal expert at University College London, described it as "the most worrying fungi" and warned that it should not be ignored.
Transmission occurs mainly through contaminated surfaces in hospitals, such as intravenous lines and blood pressure cuffs, and the fungus is notoriously hard to clean. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that clinical cases in the United States trebled from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021, with outbreaks in over 30 countries globally.
In the UK, experts are urging hospitals to enhance surveillance and infection control measures. While the risk to the general public is low, patients in intensive care or long-term care facilities are at higher risk. A 2019 study suggested that rising temperatures linked to climate change may have contributed to the spread of the fungus.
