In 2025, the state of Tennessee reported a significant health menace, with officials confirming as many as 189 clinical cases of the drug-resistant Candida auris fungus. The fungus, first identified in the United States in 2016, has gained notoriety for its robust multidrug resistance and its ability to persist on surfaces within healthcare settings such as hospitals and long-term care units. Consequently, it presents significant challenges for infection control once it appears in a facility. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that incidences of C. auris have been on a national uptick, with case numbers in 2025 reaching a peak or possibly exceeding the almost 7,000 cases reported across the nation this year. ‘Clinical cases’ are defined as infections verified from specimens obtained during diagnostics or treatment, suggesting active disease rather than mere colonization.
Health officials underscored that C. auris predominantly impacts patients within healthcare facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, and long-term care institutions. The fungus can be transmitted via contaminated medical devices, such as catheters and breathing tubes, and contact with infected surfaces, thereby posing a grave risk to medically vulnerable individuals. As voiced by a CDC epidemiologist, Candida auris figures as one of the severest antimicrobial-resistant dangers.
The risk for healthy persons contracting a serious infection from C. auris is minimal. However, patients harboring compromised immune systems or preceding medical conditions are significantly vulnerable to a higher risk of infection, more so those utilizing invasive equipment like catheters or ventilators. Mortality rates for invasive C. auris infections vary between a daunting 30% to 60%, underlining the peril of these infections to susceptible patient groups.
The Tennessee Department of Health has adopted measures to monitor C. auris instances through its communicable disease dashboard. This aggregates statewide clinical and screening data. In addition to confirmed infection cases, health officials also track screening data to spot carriers who could potentially propagate the fungus while being asymptomatic. To bolster infection control measures, state and local health departments are collaborating with medical facilities, implementing early detection and screening procedures, and enforcing swift reporting of new cases. The CDC is also offering guidance to healthcare providers on optimal practices for infection containment and prevention.
Infection control measures must remain robust to combat the spread of C. auris, including environmental sanitation, patient screening, and effective interfacility communication. Families of patients are also urged to engage with healthcare facilities to understand the measures in place to avert Candida auris spread, and to ensure that high-risk patients are being stringently monitored.