(NewsNation) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of a fungus that is rapidly spreading in the United States, but one doctor assured the general public there needn’t be any sense of panic.
Candida auris, or C. auris, is so concerning because it is often resistant to anti-fungal drugs, making it hard to treat infections. It can also be hard to identify with standard lab tests, making it even more difficult to treat properly and early.
Dr. William Li says there’s no reason for panic. The president and founder of the Angiogenesis Foundation explains that the fungus is most often found in places where patients are already very sick, including hospitals and nursing homes.
“Most of us with intact immune systems; young, healthy, vibrant people don’t have to worry about it,” Li said Tuesday on “CUOMO.” “For those people who have depressed immune system, they’re more likely to have these ‘opportunistic infections’ that can overwhelm the body.”
The fungus was first detected in the United States in 2016. The fungus “spread at an alarming rate” in 2020 and 2021 in health care facilities, the CDC wrote in a memo released Monday. Since then, it has continued to spread in 2022.
By the end of 2022, there were more than 8,000 instances of Candida auris identified across 28 states and Washington, D.C.
“This is a problem for physicians, institutions and the people who develop new medicines,” Li said. “Not reason for public panic.”
Nexstar Media Wire writer Alix Martichoux contributed to this report.