A deadly and highly resilient fungal infection, which doctors compare to the aggressive spread of cancer, is causing alarm as it proliferates across American healthcare facilities. Public health officials are grappling to contain Candida Auris, a yeast that can persist on surfaces for weeks and withstands many common disinfectants and antifungal drugs.
Exponential Rise in Infections Poses 'Urgent Threat'
First identified in US hospitals in 2016 with just 52 cases across four states, C. Auris infections have exploded exponentially. According to the latest tracking data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 7,000 people were infected in 2025 alone. This marks a staggering increase from 2023, when 4,514 cases prompted the CDC to declare the fungus an 'urgent threat'.
Dr Timothy Connelly of Memorial Health in Savannah, Georgia, explained the severity to local media. 'The fungus will just keep getting bigger and bigger, obstruct certain parts of the lungs, and can cause secondary pneumonia. Eventually, it can go on to kill people,' he said, drawing a parallel to cancerous growth.
Why This Fungus Is So Dangerous and Hard to Treat
The C. Auris fungus presents a perfect storm of challenges for infection control. It colonises skin through contact with contaminated equipment and is resistant to many hospital-grade cleaning products. Crucially, it also shows resistance to multiple antifungal medications, leaving patients to rely heavily on their own immune systems to fight the infection.
This makes the most vulnerable patients—those already ill with compromised immunity—the most at risk. The CDC estimates that between 30% and 60% of people infected with C. Auris have died, though it notes most had other serious underlying conditions. The infection becomes particularly lethal when it enters the bloodstream via wounds or invasive devices like catheters or breathing tubes.
Warning signs for healthcare providers and patients include:
- A fever and chills that do not subside after antibiotic treatment for a suspected bacterial infection.
- Redness, warmth, and pus at the site of wounds.
National Spread and the Potential Climate Change Link
The outbreak is now widespread, with more than half of all US states reporting cases this year. Nevada and California are hotspots, reporting 1,605 and 1,524 cases in 2025, respectively. A study from Florida's Jackson Health System revealed a more than 2,000% surge in infections over five years, jumping from just five cases in 2019 to 115 in 2023.
Research indicates the toll on patients is severe. A Cambridge University Press study from July found over half of C. Auris patients required intensive care, one-third needed mechanical ventilation, and more than half required a blood transfusion.
Some scientists theorise that climate change may be a contributing factor to the fungus's rise. Fungi typically struggle to infect humans due to our high internal body temperature. However, as global temperatures increase, fungi like C. Auris may be adapting to survive in warmer environments, potentially breaking through this natural 'temperature barrier,' as explained by microbiologist Professor Arturo Casadevall of Johns Hopkins University.
The rapid spread of this treatment-resistant pathogen underscores a growing public health crisis within hospital settings, demanding heightened vigilance and new strategies for infection prevention and control.
