Candida auris: 61 cases of the fungus have been reported in the U.S. since 2013
May 7th, 2017Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat. Healthcare facilities in several countries have reported that C. auris has caused severe illness in hospitalized patients. Some strains of Candida auris are resistant to all three major classes of antifungal drugs. This type of multidrug resistance has not been seen before in other species of Candida. Also of concern, C. auris can persist on surfaces in healthcare environments and spread between patients in healthcare facilities, unlike most other Candida species. CDC has developed Interim Recommendations(https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/recommendations.html) to help prevent the spread of C. auris.
C. auris is difficult to identify with standard laboratory methods and can be misidentified in labs without specific technology. CDC encourages all U.S. laboratory staff who identify C. auris strains to notify their state or local public health authorities and CDC at candidaauris@cdc.gov. Find answers to frequently asked questions about C. auris on our questions and answers page(https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/candida-auris-qanda.html) and in the Candida auris: Interim Recommendations(https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/recommendations.html).
CDC is working with state and local health departments to identify and investigate cases of C. auris. The following map displays where C. auris cases have been identified in the United States as of April 13, 2017.
