CDC: Candida auris fungal infections rising ‘alarmingly’ in US 2023

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a difficult-to-treat, lethal fungal illness is growing at a “alarming” rate (CDC).

The number of cases in the United States than quadrupled in 2021, from 756 to 1,471, according to the CDC data.

Candida auris poses little threat to healthy individuals, but those with compromised immune systems or who use medical equipment such as ventilators or catheters are susceptible to serious sickness or death.

A deadly, hard-to-treat fungal illness is growing “alarmingly.”

The majority of cases examined were resistant to antifungal therapy.

The CDC has thus deemed it a “urgent antimicrobial resistance danger.” There are numerous patients in hospitals and nursing homes.

The report’s primary author, CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman, said it can be difficult to determine the exact role Candida auris played in susceptible individuals, as one in three patients with invasive infections die.

In 2016, the illness was first identified in the United States. The greatest fast increase in occurrences occurred between 2020 and 2021, according to CDC data published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Another cause for worry was the increase in incidences of “resistance to echinocandins,” the most prescribed antifungal medication for treating the illness.

The CDC attributes the increase to ineffective infection prevention practices in healthcare settings and increased screening efforts.

It may possibly have been exacerbated by the burden placed on the hospital and public health systems by the Covid-19 epidemic.

The increase, Dr. Lyman told CBS News, “highlights the need for continuing surveillance, improved lab capacity, faster diagnostic tests, and adherence to established infection prevention and control practices.”

Moreover, a rise in Candida auris instances has been seen in other nations.

The World Health Organization included it on its list of “fungal priority pathogens” a year ago.