The drug-resistant fungus Candida auris, discovered only 15 years ago, has become one of the world's most feared hospital microbes. The World Health Organization estimates its mortality rate ranges from 30% to 53% of patients with invasive infections. The fungus can affect the bloodstream, nervous system, and internal organs if it enters the body.
What is particularly alarming is that C. auris has proven resistant to most common antifungal drugs, with some strains resistant to all available medicines, according to BBC health correspondent James Gallagher. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports outbreaks in over 30 countries, with a 2020 review finding nearly 4,750 cases globally between 2009 and 2019.
In the United States, clinical cases trebled from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021, with the CDC stating the fungus has 'spread at an alarming rate' in healthcare facilities. A 2019 study suggested rising temperatures linked to climate change may have contributed to the increase in infections.
Transmission occurs mainly through contaminated surfaces in hospitals, sticking to intravenous lines and blood pressure cuffs. 'It is the most worrying fungi and we ignore it at our peril,' said Dr Neil Stone, leading fungal expert at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, University College London. The fungus is difficult to identify and can be mistaken for other fungi, leading to incorrect treatment.
Patients in hospitals for long periods, those in nursing homes, and intensive care patients are at higher risk. Resistance to common antifungals like fluconazole is widespread, and C. auris has now developed resistance to less common drugs as well. DNA evidence suggests resistance genes may have transferred from the common Candida albicans.
