Candida auris
What's New?
- December 21, 2018: Updated recommendations for laboratorians and health professionals, including environmental disinfection, species identification, and screening recommendations; reorganized webpages
- December 21, 2018: Case count updated to 523
- July 20, 2018: Fact sheets added for patients, laboratory staff, and infection preventionists
Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat. CDC is concerned about C. auris for three main reasons:
- It is often multidrug-resistant, meaning that it is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs commonly used to treat Candida infections.
- It is difficult to identify with standard laboratory methods, and it can be misidentified in labs without specific technology. Misidentification may lead to inappropriate management.
- It has caused outbreaks in healthcare settings. For this reason, it is important to quickly identify C. auris in a hospitalized patient so that healthcare facilities can take special precautions to stop its spread.
CDC encourages all U.S. laboratory staff who identify C. auris to notify their state or local public health authorities and CDC at candidaauris@cdc.gov.
CDC Expert Commentary
![Picture of Dr. Tom Chiller for medscape](/congress115th/20190109170923im_/https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dfwed/images/updated-tom.jpg)
The Unexpected and Troubling Rise of Candida auris
August 24, 2017
CDC expert Dr. Tom Chiller discusses Candida auris, an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat.
- Page last reviewed: December 19, 2018
- Page last updated: December 19, 2018
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