A deadly fungal infection called Candida auris — known also as C. auris — is spreading at an “alarming” rate, the CDC warns.
According to a new report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the infection, which was originally limited to New York and Chicago, has spread to more than half of U.S. states in recent years. It’s often drug-resistant, and carriers don’t always show symptoms, meaning it transmits rapidly through healthcare facilities.
Cases have rocketed in recent years
The research examined clinical cases between 2016 and 2021. These rose from 53 in 2016 to 330 in 2018 and then rocketed from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021. The rate of “colonization” — people carrying the fungus without becoming infected — increased at a similar rate.
Healthy people can shake off the infection, but it can cause serious illness and even death in patients who already have a weakened immune system. According to the CDC, between 30 and 60 percent of those who’ve been infected with Candida auris have died, but many of those patients also suffered other serious illnesses.
Researchers say that the rapid rise in cases over the last few years may have been aggravated by the “pandemic-related strain on the health care and public health system.”
Spreading far and wide
“The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasizes the need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control,” CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman, lead author of the study, said in a news release.
Mississippi has been contending with a growing outbreak. Tammy Yates, spokesperson for the Mississippi State Department of Health told NBC News in an email that since last November, at least a dozen people have been infected, and there have been four “potentially associated deaths.”
One of the most concerning elements of this spread is the infection’s resistance to treatment. Dr. Lyman’s hope is that the study’s findings will spur providers to develop treatments more quickly, and facilities to practice “good infection control.” The fungus is very resilient, and can survive well on surfaces, bedding, cables and walls.
“Fungal pathogens are a major threat to public health as they are becoming increasingly common and resistant to treatment with only four classes of antifungal medicines currently available,” the WHO says.
In its October report listing the 19 fungal pathogens that represent the “greatest threat to public health,” the WHO also noted that populations at the greatest risk of invasive fungal infections “include those with cancer, HIV/AIDS, organ transplants, chronic respiratory disease, and post-primary tuberculosis infection.”
