CDC says Candida auris fungal infections spreading in US at 'alarming' rate
US cases nearly doubled in 2021 - from 756 to 1,471, says the CDC report.
Healthy people are not at risk from Candida auris, but those with weak immune systems - or using medical devices like ventilators or catheters - can suffer severe illness or die.
The majority of cases tested were immune to anti-fungal treatment.
For this reason, the CDC has called it an "urgent antimicrobial resistance threat". Many patients are in hospitals and elderly care homes.
It can spread from "contact with affected patients and contaminated surfaces or equipment", the CDC said.
One in three patients with invasive infections dies. Still, it can be challenging to assess the exact role Candida auris plays in vulnerable patients, said CDC epidemiologist Dr Meghan Lyman, the report's lead author.
The most common symptoms are fever and chills that do not improve after treatment, according to the CDC.
Because most patients are already sick, it is sometimes hard to detect the fungal infection. Only a laboratory test can confirm condition.
The infection was first reported in the US in 2016. The most rapid rise in cases was from 2020 to 2021, according to CDC data which was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Another reason for concern was the increase of cases that became "resistant to echinocandins" which is the antifungal medicine most recommended for treatment of the infection.
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