The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently warned about a drug-resistant strain of Candida auris, a fungus spreading at an alarming rate in the United States and many other countries worldwide, including Italy.

Candida auris is a highly contagious pathogenic fungus within healthcare facilities that spreads from one individual to another via direct contact or contaminated surfaces. Although it is not a threat to healthy people, this fungus can cause severe systemic infections in debilitated patients or those with invasive medical devices, leading to high mortality sepsis in 15% of them.

Moreover, although most Candida auris infections are treatable with antifungal drugs, some strains exhibit resistance to initial drug treatments – as happens with MDR bacteria – leading to the failure of first-line therapies.