YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Ohio is among some of the states for the spread of a fungus called Candida auris, or C.
The fungus is concerning because it’s often resistant to antifungal drugs and can also be hard to identify with standard lab tests.
The fungus “spread at an alarming rate” between 2020 and 2021 in healthcare facilities, the CDC wrote in a memo released Monday and has continued to spread in 2022.
Over the past 12 months, there have been 79 cases in Ohio with a total of 285 cases from May 2020 to November 2022. One was reported in the Valley in Columbiana County.
Hamilton County had the most with 212 cases, followed by Cuyahoga County with 48 between May 2020 and November 2022.
The top states for the detection of the fungus are California, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Illinois and New York.
The CDC says it’s an emerging “global health threat” and has caused outbreaks in healthcare settings.
Candida auris spreads easily among hospitalized patients and nursing home residents through contact with contaminated environmental surfaces or equipment, or from person to person. In some patients, this yeast can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body, causing serious invasive infections.
It was first identified in 2013 and has been identified in more than half of U.S. states. It became reportable in Ohio in 2019 and the first case was confirmed in 2020.