Drug-Resistant Fungal Infections Spread Across US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that at least 3,182 cases of a drug-resistant fungal infection, caused by Candida auris (C. auris), have been confirmed in the U.S, as of July 25. The agency recorded 4,290 clinical cases in all of last year.

According to the latest data from the CDC, at least 23 states confirmed infections. Texas is one of the hardest-hit states in the country with 715 cases so far this year, followed by Michigan with 518 cases and Illinois with 379 cases.

C. auris is a type of yeast that can cause severe illness and spreads easily among very sick patients in healthcare facilities. C. auris can cause a range of infections from superficial (skin) infections to more severe, life-threatening infections, such as bloodstream infections. Unfortunately, C. auris is often resistant to antifungal medications, meaning the fungus develops the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill it. That means the germs are not killed and continue to grow. Resistant infections can be difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat. Patients who use breathing and feeding tubes, urinary catheters, and catheters in a vein are especially vulnerable to infection, the CDC said.

Patients who are infected and patients who are colonized with C. auris often spread it onto surfaces and objects in healthcare settings like bedrails, doorknobs, and blood pressure cuffs. C. auris can survive on surfaces and objects for a long time and spread to other patients who can then become sick.

C. auris usually remains on a patient’s skin or body sites for a long time, whether or not they ever have symptoms, and they continue to be capable of spreading C. auris during this entire time.

Healthcare facilities can help prevent outbreaks by detecting cases early, screening patients, and adhering strongly to recommended infection prevention and control (IPC) practices.