New data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proves that the Candida auris fungus is considered an urgent threat, as it nearly doubled in 2021 and the cases resistant to echinocandins (its treatment) are tripling. 

Published on Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the research studied cases of Candida auris from CDC data from the year 2016 to 2021 and clinical cases were shown to be increasing year by year - going from 53 in 2016 to 330 in 2018 and then jumping from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021.

Even though it was first contained mainly in New York City and Chicago, Candida auris is now spreading to more than half of the US and 17 states reported their first cases between 2019 and 2021.  

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It is considered an urgent threat because it has the ability to resist multiple drugs used as treatments and is easily multiplying in healthcare facilities which can lead to fatal diseases. Moreso, it can fight disinfectants and can be transmitted through skin-on-skin contact without even showing symptoms. 

According to the researchers, the increased spread may have been accelerated by the “pandemic-related strain on the health care and public health system.”

In a news release, CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman, lead author of the study, said: "The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasizes the need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control,” 

Blame it on global warming 

Last year, Candida auris was part of the World Health Organization (WHO)'s list of "fungal priority pathogens,” which are considered a "major threat to public health as they are becoming increasingly common and resistant to treatment with only four classes of antifungal medicines currently available,” 

The organization names global warming and the incline of international trade alongside travel as the main factors contributing to its spread, as the fungus was first reported on four continents between 2009 and 2015 as four different strains. 

Read more: Warmer climate believed to be reason for rising fungi in US

The authors behind the research suggest that the transmission of the fungus is facilitated by “poor general infection prevention and control practices in healthcare facilities” and occurs in post-acute care facilities and ventilator-capable skilled-nursing facilities.

An Infectious-disease specialist at the Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Scott Roberts, who did not partake in the study, warned that “this problem is not going to go away. I think it’s really only going to increase over time,” he said.

Candida auris isn't really a fun-guy

“Once it sets up shop, in a nursing home, for example, it’s almost impossible to eradicate,” Dr. Roberts explains, adding: “Once it’s on patients too, it can kind of just be colonized for years, if not their life.”

On a more positive note, the CDC suggests that the fungus is more probable to affect those with serious medical problems, those with weakened immune systems, and those with medical devices in their bodies, such as breathing tubes or catheters.