The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a paper released this week that “an emerging fungus considered an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat” has been making a measurable impact at hospitals and care homes.
The health agency reported “an alarming rate” of Candida auris, or C auris, cases in healthcare facilities in 2020-2021 and early surveillance suggests a similar rise in 2022.
C auris can cause serious ear, bloodstream or wound infections. It is not viewed as a threat to healthy people since the fungus preys on those with weaker immune systems or other health problems, as well as those who spend time in long-term care homes or hospitals.
The CDC says cases have been recorded in more than half of US states, with most cases reported in California, Florida and New York.
At least a third of C auris patients have died.
“The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasises the need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control,” CDC epidemiologist Meghan Lyman said in a statement.
The fungus was first reported in the US in 2016, the CDC said, and has been deemed a global health threat because of its resistance to several drugs and the difficulty in identifying it in laboratory testing.
It also poses an unique challenge due to its tendency to spread quickly in hospitals and care homes: Standard lab technicians have difficulty detecting the virus and it is not easy to quickly isolate an infected patient to prevent spread.
The CDC report says the fungus “may have worsened” due to health systems being overwhelmed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
