The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling an emerging fungus an “urgent threat” after a new study found it is spreading at an “alarming rate” in healthcare settings.
Cases of Candida auris (C. auris), which is resistant to many antifungal drugs, have increased every year since it was first reported in 2016. Their sharpest increase was between 2020 and 2021, according to the study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. ,( ‘Immediate Threat’: CDC Warns Against Candida Auris, A Drug-Resistant Fungus Invading Health Care Settings)
- Cases detected through screening tripled from 2020 to 2021, totaling 4,041.
- Cases of infection increased from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021.
- 17 states identified their first case of C. auris between 2019 and 2021.
- “The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is a matter of concern and emphasizes the need for continued surveillance, expanded laboratory capacity, more rapid diagnostic testing, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control practices,” the chief said the author, Dr. Meghan Lyman, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Researchers were equally concerned that the number of infections resistant to echinocandins, the antifungal drugs recommended for treatment, tripled over the past two years.
The agency said fungal infections can be life-threatening for people who are at risk in hospital settings, including those who are very ill, have invasive medical equipment, or have long or frequent stays in healthcare facilities.
