Cases of drug-resistant fungus found in 17 states, including Illinois

Editor's Note: The video in the player above is from a previous report in 2023.

Cases of a dangerous, drug-resistant fungus have been confirmed in at least 17 states so far this year, with the Midwest seeing some of the highest numbers, including several in Illinois.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1,000 cases of Candida auris have been confirmed across the U.S. so far this year.

Of those, 469 cases were in Midwestern states.

Illinois has seen 25 cases reported so far, the CDC data from April 26, the most current reporting, showed. Michigan saw 185, Ohio 125, Indiana 82, Iowa 51 and Wisconsin one.

Cases of Candida auris aren't new to Illinois, however. Last year, 169 total cases were confirmed, according to the CDC.

Health officials have warned in recent years that the fungus was spreading at an alarming rate in the U.S. Candida auris, which can lead to potentially deadly infections, tripled in case numbers from 2020 to 2023, a study from CDC researchers found.

The increases, “especially in the most recent years, are really concerning to us,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Meghan Lyman, chief medical officer in the CDC’s Mycotic Diseases Branch, said in an interview with NBC News. “We’ve seen increases not just in areas of ongoing transmission, but also in new areas.”

But what is the fungus and what do you need to know?

What is Candida auris?

The fungus, Candida auris, is a form of yeast that is usually not harmful to healthy people but can be a deadly risk to fragile hospital and nursing home patients. It spreads easily and can infect wounds, ears and the bloodstream. Some strains are so-called superbugs that are resistant to all three classes of antibiotic drugs used to treat fungal infections.

"Not surprisingly, the spread of these organisms that can be very hard to treat or are drug resistant or can spread in health care," Dr. Allison Arwady, former Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner, said in 2023. "We've seen some more of that and so, now, many, many more states are seeing Candida auris."

The yeast can lead to infections in the bloodstream, in wounds or in ears.

"This yeast often does not respond to commonly used antifungal drugs, making infections difficult to treat," the CDC's website states. "Patients who have been hospitalized in a health care facility a long time, have a central venous catheter, or other lines or tubes entering their body, or have previously received antibiotics or antifungal medications, appear to be at highest risk of infection with this yeast."

How is Candida auris spread?

Candida auris is most often spread in health care settings via contact with contaminated surfaces or equipment, according to the CDC, though it can also spread from person to person.

"More work is needed to further understand how it spreads," the CDC reports.

Why is Candida auris dangerous and can it be fatal?

While the fungus can be treated with certain antifungal drugs, some infections have grown resistant to all three classes of medications, "making them more difficult to treat."

Some infections can be fatal, and the CDC reports limited data has shown 30-60% of people with such infections have died, though many of those individuals also had other illnesses that increased their risk of death.

When was the fungus first identified in the U.S. and where do things stand now?

The fungus was first identified in Japan in 2009 and has been seen in more and more countries since. The first U.S. case occurred in 2013, but it was not reported until 2016. That year, U.S. health officials reported 53 cases.

The 2023 study found cases continued to shoot up, rising to 476 in 2019, to 756 in 2020, and then to 1,471 in 2021. Doctors have also detected the fungus on the skin of thousands of other patients, making them a transmission risk to others.

In 2025, however, while the Midwest continues to see the most cases of any region, Illinois' number have stayed relatively lower compared to others.

Many of the first U.S. cases were infections that had been imported from abroad, but now most infections are spread within the U.S., the authors noted.

Illinois was among the states hit hardest during the fungus' introduction in the U.S.

"When Candida auris was really identified as a significant health care threat, it actually was in New York and in Illinois, where we first had some of the detection in place and some of the work to very intensively work in our high-risk settings to limit that spread, make sure it's being recognized and treated," Arwady, who worked with the CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health at the time, said.