A drug-resistant fungus, Candida auris, is spreading at an alarming rate in US healthcare facilities, with clinical cases tripling from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The yeast-type fungus, first discovered in 2009, can cause severe infections in the bloodstream, nervous system, and internal organs, with a mortality rate estimated between 30% and 53% by the World Health Organization.
Candida auris is often resistant to common antifungal drugs, and some strains are resistant to all available treatments, said BBC health correspondent James Gallagher. The fungus is difficult to identify and can be mistaken for other fungi, leading to incorrect treatment, noted Dr Tina Joshi, associate professor at the University of Plymouth. Transmission occurs mainly through contaminated surfaces in hospitals, where it sticks to equipment like intravenous lines and blood pressure cuffs and is hard to clean.
The CDC reported outbreaks in over 30 countries, with nearly 4,750 cases globally between 2009 and 2019. A 2019 study suggested that rising temperatures due to climate change may have contributed to the increase in infections, as the fungus adapted to higher temperatures. The risk is highest for patients in hospitals for long periods, those in nursing homes, and individuals in intensive care or on heavy antibiotics.
