Tracking Candida auris
Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat. CDC’s Mycotic Diseases Branch tracks the number of C. auris cases in the United States over time to assess the impact of prevention strategies and inform public health practices. In the United States, most cases of C. auris result from local spread within and among healthcare facilities in the same city or state. However, healthcare facilities should be on the lookout for new introductions of C. auris from patients who received healthcare elsewhere in the United States or abroad in areas with C. auris transmission.
This information is based on C. auris case counts provided by local and state health departments to the CDC every month. This data is summarized in the maps and data tables below and includes clinical C. auris cases from 2013, the year of the earliest known US case.
Details on how this data is tracked, a summary of the C. auris case definition, and CDC’s recommendations to facilities tracking C. auris cases are provided below.
C. auris was made nationally notifiable in 2018 [PDF – 17 pages]. Therefore, in states where C. auris is reportable, state and local public health departments should report cases to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). NNDSS data on C. auris are available through CDC WONDER and data.CDC.gov, but the data are incomplete because many states have not yet begun to submit C. auris data to NNDSS. Therefore, the case counts on this web page are more comprehensive than the NNDSS data. However, this web page relies on public health departments’ voluntary reporting of cases to CDC, so there may still be other C. auris cases that are unreported or undetected. In addition, case counts on this web page may differ from NNDSS data because NNDSS counts cases by residence state.
To view the NNDSS HL7 Healthcare-Associated Infections, Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (HAI MDRO) Message Mapping Guide, which includes C. auris and Carbapenemase Producing Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CP-CRE), visit MMGs and Artifacts.
What are clinical cases?
Clinical cases of C. auris are classified according to the surveillance case definition established by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Clinical cases are based on cultures or culture-independent diagnostic testing from specimens collected during the course of clinical care for the purpose of diagnosing or treating disease. Cases are categorized by the state of the healthcare facility where the specimen was collected. Clinical cases include both confirmed and probable cases.
What are colonization/screening cases?
Colonization/screening cases of C. auris are classified according to the surveillance case definition established by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Screening is when swabs are collected from patients to determine whether or not they may be carrying the organism somewhere on their bodies without signs of active infection. Colonization means that these patients are found to be carrying C. auris on their bodies, even though they are not sick with the infection. Screening patients for C. auris colonization may be recommended when transmission or colonization of C. auris is suspected, to control the spread.
CDC is working closely with public health and healthcare partners to prevent and respond to C. auris infections. CDC encourages all U.S. laboratories that identify C. auris to notify their state or local public health authorities. State and local public health authorities can notify CDC about C. auris cases by emailing candidaauris@cdc.gov. CDC’s AR Lab Network is available for assistance with C. auris identification and screening, to help improve detection and response to C. auris nationwide.