This Fungus Is Spreading Rapidly in Hospitals
Published: April 24, 2023

Narrator: Cases of a deadly fungal infection are increasing and this might be caused by climate change. That may sound like the plot of The Last of Us but fortunately, this fungus—called Candida auris—is not going to hijack your body and turn you into a zombie. It is unusual though. Until now, human bodies have been too warm for most fungi to grow and reproduce. But experts think the fungi have evolved, and are becoming more of a threat.

Arturo Casadevall: The fungi in the environment are being exposed to climate change and as those fungi begin to adapt to higher temperatures, we're going to lose the protection.

Narrator: Cases of Candida auris have been reported in over 28 states and are rapidly increasing year-over-year.

Shira Doron: Where there was a 44% increase in 2019, there was a 95% increase in 2021. That's what makes it concerning.

Narrator: The fungus can lead to severe infection and can infect any body part, including the blood. It can survive on the skin and can shed into the environment and contaminate surfaces.

Meghan Lyman: This increase didn't just happen in areas where they've had C. auris, but it also occurred in areas that previously didn't have any transmission or areas that had not had any prior cases.

Narrator: It’s not just climate change fungi are adapting to.

Shira Doron: Candida auris is just one of many organisms that's displaying increasing antimicrobial resistance.

Narrator: Antimicrobial resistance is when organisms like bacteria and fungi build a tolerance to drugs that in the previous years could’ve worked as treatment.

Shira Doron: Mutations develop in their genetic makeup that make it so the drugs no longer work.

Narrator: Candida auris is challenging to treat because it’s resistant to one of the three common anti-fungal treatments. One class of drugs, called echinocandins, has been the most effective in treating the fungus, although not in every case, and a small percentage of Candida auris samples have been found to be resistant to that too.

Meghan Lyman: We have not seen a lot of resistance to echinocandins yet, so it's considered the first-line treatment for infections. But we are seeing more cases that have echinocandins resistance or resistance to all three main classes.

Narrator: Candida auris is so far mostly contained to health care settings, in elderly patients, people with weakened immune systems, and patients that require invasive medical devices, like catheters and breathing tubes.

Shira Doron: This is really not a problem for the general public. This is really a problem for people who are in the hospital for long periods of time in and out of the hospital, very sick, often in the ICU with devices.

Narrator: But could this spread outside of healthcare facilities?

Arturo Casadevall: I think the concern—and I emphasize that it's not happening today—is whether this kind of infection can spill out into the community. I don't know if that's going to happen, but the organism is changing rapidly and if that was to happen, then we would have a much bigger problem than we have today.

Meghan Lyman: We don't want people to think that spread is inevitable and, you know, be hopeless. We want health care providers and health care facilities to stay motivated and realize that there's a lot that can be done to prevent spread.

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