NewsU.S. and the World

Actions

CDC: Drug-resistant fungus spreading in two U.S. cities

CDC logo
Posted at 10:37 AM, Jul 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-23 12:37:07-04

The US Centers for Disease and Control Prevention said they had detected a fungus that is "an emerging, often multidrug-resistant yeast that is highly transmissible" that is spreading in two U.S. cities.

On Thursday, the CDC said the outbreaks were reported at two hospitals in Texas and a nursing home in Washington, D.C.

According to USA Today, the outbreaks in Texas occurred in Dallas.

The fungus, Candida Auris, transmits from person to person, which would be a first for the U.S.

The CDC says the outbreak, which happened during the same time period, appear to be unrelated to each other.

According to the CDC, of the 101 cases identified in Washington, D.C., three were isolated from January to April 2021 as resistant to all three major classes of antifungal medications.

With the 22 cases identified in Texas, two of them were resistant to all three antifungal medications, and five patients were resistant to two of the medicines.