ATLANTA, GA — Cases of Candida auris, a potentially deadly fungus, have been identified in 27 states this year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released for the week ending July 25. The agency counted 3,437 cases so far in 2026, a figure that is lower than the 4,290 cases reported at the same point last year.
California recorded the most cases, with 873. Texas followed with 433, and Tennessee had 283. The CDC said the rising yearly total does not necessarily mean the fungus is spreading faster than usual, noting that the rate of increase has slowed since 2022.
What The CDC Measured
The CDC describes C. auris as a yeast that can cause severe illness and spread easily among people who are already very ill in healthcare facilities. It can lead to infections ranging from skin infections to bloodstream infections that can become life-threatening.
According to the agency, infected patients and people who carry the fungus without symptoms can pass it along. C. auris can also survive for a long time on surfaces and objects such as doorknobs and bedrails, which makes hospitals and nursing homes especially important settings for control efforts.
Why Health Officials Worry
C. auris was first discovered in 1996 by Korean researchers and formally identified in Japan in 2009 as a new species. Most healthy people do not need to worry about infection, but people with weakened immune systems and those who are hospitalized or in nursing homes face greater risk.
Patients with lines or tubes in the body, such as catheters or breathing tubes, are also at higher risk. The fungus has developed resistance to antifungal medicines, including some strains that resist more than one drug class, which can make treatment more difficult once infection takes hold.
What Comes Next
A CDC analysis published earlier this year looked at 8,033 C. auris samples from 2022 and 2023. It found that more than 95% were resistant to fluconazole, 15% were resistant to amphotericin B, 1% were resistant to echinocandins, and fewer than 1% were resistant to all three antifungal classes.
The CDC says most infections can still be treated with echinocandins, but the mortality rate for C. auris has been estimated in studies to be between 30% and 60%. The agency also notes that it can be hard to know how much the fungus contributes to a patient’s death because many patients are already seriously ill. Readers can check CDC guidance and state health department updates for the latest data.
Wild places, night skies and what science just found, on Timberwolf Times.
