This Dangerous Fungus Has Become Resistant to Every Major Antifungal Drug We Have… Twice
A rare, pan-drug-resistant strain of the fungus Candidozyma auris has been identified in a patient in Kenya. This is only the second globally documented case of the pathogen resisting all four major classes of antifungal drugs.
Why it matters
The emergence of pan-drug-resistant fungal pathogens poses a significant threat to global public health and hospital safety protocols.
There's a new fungus amongus, and it's raising red flags among health care experts because it resists all the major antifungal treatments.
The discovery involves Candidozyma auris (formerly known as Candida auris) , an emerging fungal pathogen that has already become a serious problem in hospitals around the world.
Since it was first described in 2009, this fungus has spread to more than 60 countries across six continents, causing healthcare-associated outbreaks and invasive infections, with mortality rates of 30–50 percent reported in some situations.
The fungus can persist in healthcare environments and spread easily between patients. Because of its combination of antifungal resistance and potential for wider spread, the World Health Organization designated C. auris a critical-priority fungal pathogen in 2022.
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