Federal health officials are warning that Candida auris, a drug-resistant yeast, is spreading in U.S. healthcare settings. The CDC reports more than 3,000 cases in 23 states so far this year, with Texas (706), Michigan (503), and Illinois (366) among the highest counts as of July 18.
Trends and scope
– A CDC summary issued in early July documented annual increases: 2,882 cases in 2022, 4,428 in 2023, and 6,197 in 2024. Screening data also rose sharply; researchers reported a doubling of positive screening cultures from about 6,000 to 12,000 between 2022 and 2024. Most reported infections occur in people age 45 and older, more often in males, and are concentrated in acute care facilities and nursing homes.
Why it matters
– Some C. auris strains have developed resistance to the main classes of antifungal drugs, and a subset is now resistant to all commonly used medications. That makes infections harder to treat and increases the importance of preventing spread in medical settings. Estimates from research suggest mortality among patients diagnosed with C. auris ranges roughly from 30% to 60%, though many patients who die have other serious underlying illnesses that contribute to risk.
How it spreads
– C. auris commonly transmits in hospitals, nursing homes, and other clinical settings. It can colonize patients and survive on surfaces for weeks, contaminating medical devices and high-touch items. Common routes of spread include contaminated catheters, breathing tubes, IV lines, and contact with contaminated surfaces or equipment. Patients may remain able to transmit the organism for months after apparent recovery.
Who is most at risk
– People with chronic or serious health conditions, frequent or prolonged hospital stays, residents of long-term care facilities, and those with invasive medical devices are at greatest risk of invasive C. auris infection. Most healthy community members are unlikely to be exposed because the organism is not currently circulating widely outside healthcare facilities.
Prevention and control in healthcare settings
– Experts recommend aggressive infection-control measures for patients known or suspected to carry C. auris. Key steps include using gowns and gloves for care, placing infected or colonized patients in private rooms, rigorous cleaning with disinfectants effective against C. auris, screening high-risk patients on admission, clear signage outside rooms, and communicating C. auris status when patients transfer between facilities. Investing in laboratory capacity to rapidly and accurately identify C. auris is also important because older methods can misidentify the organism.
Treatment
– Antifungal medications are used to treat invasive C. auris infections, with echinocandins generally considered first-line therapy. When strains show resistance, clinicians may use higher doses and combinations of antifungals, but treatment becomes more complex when multidrug resistance is present.
What the public should know
– Public health and infectious disease experts stress there is no need for panic among the general population, but awareness and caution are warranted for people who visit or work in healthcare settings. Good hand hygiene with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rubs, avoiding unnecessary contact with medical devices, and following facility guidance when visiting patients are practical steps to reduce risk. Anyone who suspects they have been exposed or has symptoms after a healthcare stay should seek medical evaluation and possible screening.
Expert perspective
– Infectious disease specialists describe the rapid emergence and persistence of C. auris as concerning because it can spread quickly in hospitals and long-term care facilities and is often multidrug-resistant. They emphasize that containment depends on early identification, strict infection control, and coordinated reporting and screening efforts at the facility and public health levels.
Bottom line
– Candida auris is an emerging, sometimes multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen primarily affecting vulnerable patients in healthcare settings. Cases have increased in recent years and are now reported across multiple states. Preventing spread relies on rigorous infection control, accurate lab detection, careful treatment decisions when resistance is present, and good hand hygiene for anyone entering or working in clinical environments.
