A highly drug-resistant fungus that is difficult to treat continues to spread through healthcare facilities across the United States, posing a growing threat to vulnerable patients, according to a new government study.
The fungus, Candida auris, is a type of yeast capable of causing severe infections, particularly in people with weakened immune systems or serious underlying health conditions.
Since it was first identified in the United States in 2016, cases have expanded to more than half of the country’s states.
According to a report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 13,507 Candida auris cases were reported between 2022 and 2024, with infections increasing steadily each year.
The data, submitted voluntarily by state and local health departments, showed that the majority of cases occurred in men over the age of 45 receiving care in hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare settings.
While the latest report did not include mortality figures, previous CDC research has found that approximately 30 percent of people who develop invasive Candida auris infections die, although many patients have serious underlying medical conditions that also contribute to the risk.
Health experts warn that one of the fungus’s greatest challenges is its ability to colonize the skin, allowing it to persist without immediately causing illness while increasing the risk of transmission within healthcare facilities.
“Sometimes the fungi sits on our skin and becomes a part of our ecosystem,” said Waleed Javaid, chief quality officer at West Virginia University Hospitals and professor of medicine specializing in infectious diseases.
Because Candida auris can survive on patients’ skin and on medical equipment or surfaces for extended periods, eliminating it once it has spread through a healthcare facility can be extremely difficult.
Public health officials continue to emphasize the importance of infection-control measures, early detection and enhanced surveillance to limit transmission and protect high-risk patients as the number of reported cases continues to rise nationwide.
