Candida auris infections are increasingly on the rise across the U.S. — something the CDC has cited as “an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat.” Now, the fungus has induced infections across dozens of states.
Nevada and California are currently leading the nation with the highest number of C. auris infections at 384 and 359, respectively, followed closely by Florida with 349 and New York with 326, according to CDC tracking.
Several states — including Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee — have cases on the much lower end, ranging from one to 10.
In 2022 alone there were 2,377 clinical cases and 5,754 screening cases across the U.S., according to the CDC.
“The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasizes the need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control,” Meghan Lyman, MD, lead author of a CDC report on the fungus, said in a March 20 statement.
While C. auris is not typically dangerous to healthy individuals, those who are elderly or immunocompromised can face higher risks and even death caused by infection. The fungus has only been a notifiable disease since 2018, and infections have rapidly risen nationwide since.
“CDC is working closely with public health and healthcare partners to prevent and respond to C. auris infections,” the agency states on its website. “CDC encourages all U.S. laboratories that identify C. auris to notify their state or local public health authorities.”
The following lists each of the 29 states where C. auris has been identified in order of the number of cases:
- Nevada — 384
- California — 359
- Florida — 349
- New York — 326
- Illinois — 276
- Texas — 160
- New Jersey — 94
- Indiana — 87
- Ohio — 79
- Maryland — 46
- Virginia — 40
- Michigan — 33
- Pennsylvania — 33
- Kentucky — 22
- D.C. — 19
- Arizona — 17
- Georgia — 12
- Louisiana — 10
- Tennessee — 8
- Alabama — 6
- Delaware — 5
- Mississippi — 5
- Massachusetts — 2
- Colorado — 1
- Hawaii — 1
- Minnesota — 1
- New Mexico — 1
- Wisconsin — 1
- Iowa — 0*, CDC data suggests the state previously had a case.
