According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a fungus called Candida auris, shortened to C. Auris, has been detected in more than half of the American states, including Colorado. This “emerging” fungus is cause for concern due to being “considered an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat.”

As stated in a March 20, 2023 report, the fungus spread at an alarming rate at healthcare facilities during 2020 and 2021 with many cases resistant to anti-fungal medicine. The fungus is also associated with severe infection that can cause high death rates.

Currently, the fungus isn’t a huge threat to most healthy people, but those in hospitals and long-term care facilities tend to be much more vulnerable.

Per mapping provided by the CDC, there was one clinical case where C. auris was detected in Colorado in 2022. The highest number of cases in 2022 was found in Nevada, where 384 cases were tallied.

The recent press release related to the condition notes that the CDC is working with state, local, and territorial health departments to address this emerging threat. The fungus was first detected in the US in 2016, but has started to spread “at an alarming rate” in recent years.

Read more about this fungus here.

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