Think Fungus: Fungal Disease Awareness Week

Fungal Disease Awareness Week is September 20-24, 2021. CDC and partners have organized this week to highlight the importance of recognizing serious fungal diseases early enough in the course of a patient’s illness to provide life-saving treatment.
Some fungal diseases go undiagnosed, leading to serious illness and death. Increased awareness about fungal diseases is one of the most important ways we can improve early recognition and reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment. A key clue to when a sick person may have a fungal disease is that he or she is being treated with medicine for another type of infection but does not get better.
It’s important to consider fungal diseases in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic because the symptoms of some fungal diseases can be like those of COVID-19, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath. To provide appropriate care, laboratory testing is necessary to tell if a person has a fungal infection or COVID-19.
We encourage healthcare providers and patients to “Think Fungus” when symptoms of infection do not get better with treatment. Join us in sharing information to increase awareness in your community about fungal diseases. The quicker doctors can diagnose the right illness, the quicker patients can be treated the right way.
Resources
- New publications
- Medscape Case Challenge: The COVID Complication You Might Missexternal icon
- Public awareness of invasive fungal diseases — United States, 2019external icon
- Does pulmonary aspergillosis complicate COVID-19?external icon
- Injection drug use-associated candidemia: incidence, clinical features, and outcomes, East Tennessee, 2014–2018external icon
- Factors associated with Candida auris colonization and transmission in skilled nursing facilities with ventilator units, New York, 2016–2018external icon
- Web features
- Fungal Disease Personal Stories
- Fungal Infections – 10 Questions to Protect Your Health [English] [Español]
- Valley Fever Awareness [English] [Español]
- Histoplasmosis: Be Safe Around Bird or Bat Poop!
- Fact sheets and posters
- CDC and Fungal Diseases: Why Are Fungal Diseases A Public Health Problem pdf icon[PDF – 1 page]
- Candida auris: A Drug-resistant Germ That Spreads in Healthcare Facilities
- Facts about Valley Fever pdf icon[PDF – 2 pages]
- Invasive Mold Infections in Immunocompromised People Ringworm poster: Protect Yourself From Itchy Rashes pdf icon[PDF – 1 page]
- Additional resources
- Social Media Messages
- Buttons and Banners