Update: U.S. Candida auris Cases Have More Than Doubled

In November, we told you the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was urging clinicians to “act now to better understand, contain, and stop the spread of” infection caused by drug-resistant Candida auris. Since then, the number of C auris cases in the U.S. has more than doubled (from 13 to 35, with 28 of them occurring in New York alone). C auris can cause serious bloodstream infections, transmits easily from person-to-person in healthcare settings, and can live for months on skin and for weeks on bed rails and other hospital equipment. Even more ominous, some strains are resistant to all three major classes of antifungal drugs. Of the first seven cases reported to CDC last fall, four patients had bloodstream infections; they died within weeks or months after the pathogen was identified. The CDC recommends that all healthcare professional implement its Standard and Contact Precautions.