Health expert shares key differences between deadly fungal disease sweeping the US and Covid-19

A medical illustration of Candida auris fungal organisms

A public health expert has outlined the differences between a deadly fungal infection sweeping the US and Covid-19. Candida auris (C. auris) is spreading quickly across the States, with a death rate as high as 60 per cent.

The rare fungus is resistant to drugs, spreads easily in medical facilities and has a high fatality rate. The infection has been called “a serious global health threat” by experts, with cases having increased dramatically from 2020-2021.

“C. auris can cause bloodstream infections and even death, particularly in hospital patients and nursing home residents with serious medical problems,” The Illinois Department of Public Health has warned. More than one in three individuals invasive C. auris infection, for example, affecting the blood, heart, or brain, die, they added.

C. auris expert, Dr. Meghan Lyman, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Mycotic Diseases Branch, has set out the differences between C. auris and Covid-19. Dr. Lyman told IrishStar.com: “One of the differences is that the people getting infected with C. auris have been really sick from the beginning.

“It’s not healthy people out in the community getting infected. It’s people who are on ventilators, central lines, or in ICU. C. auris isn’t affecting the general population, just a smaller population who are very sick.

“The other difference is how C. auris is spread. The infection is spread much more through contact in healthcare settings rather than through respiratory transmissions. People aren’t breathing C. auris in.

“Most if not all of C. auris cases have acquired the infection in healthcare settings, too, or have a history in healthcare settings. We’re not so worried about people catching C. auris in the gym or at the movie theater or at the grocery store. That could change overtime as it becomes more common, but it’s not what we’re seeing now.”

There are high levels of cases across the US. California, Nevada, Texas, Illinois, New York, and Florida all currently have hundreds of cases of the fungus. The fungus typically emerges from a local spread from “within and among healthcare facilities”.

Meanwhile, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennesse, Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Massachusetts all also have Candida auris cases in their state. Several states, however, have no reported cases to date.

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