Overview
- A peer-reviewed synthesis in Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews reports growing transmissibility and severity of Candida auris since its 2009 identification.
- CDC data show at least 7,000 U.S. infections across 27 states this year, with health officials noting cases in more than half of states and ongoing healthcare-associated spread.
- Conventional diagnostics frequently misidentify the pathogen, delaying appropriate therapy and complicating containment in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
- Mortality remains high, with roughly one-third of hospitalized patients dying and bloodstream infections approaching about 50% fatality in studies.
- Scientists highlight urgent needs for better surveillance, faster tests, and new treatments, noting three antifungal candidates in late-stage development and the 2023 FDA approval of rezafungin.