First cases of drug resistant fungal infection reported in the U.S. | TheHill - The Hill

The fungus Candida auris was found in patients in Texas who were not treated for the fungus, suggesting it was resistant when transmitted.

Public health experts are concerned about cases of a fungus called Candida auris (C. auris) in the U.S.

There have been cases where the fungal infection became resistant to drugs in patients who received treatment.

“This is the first time that we’ve actually identified clusters with common health care exposures in the same facilities and among patients who had not received antifungals,” said Meghan Lyman, a medical officer in the mycotic diseases branch in CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, to STAT.

The new drug resistant cases were reported in Washington, D.C., and Texas between January and April 2021, according to the MMWR.

auris from skin samples of patients at health care facilities, including long-term care facilities.

“With all this spread that we’ve been seeing across the country we’re really encouraging health departments and facilities to be more proactive instead of reactive to identifying Candida auris in general,” says Lyman.