To quote medical mycologist Shawn Lockhart, PhD, Candida auris “is a very clever bug.”

This hardy yeast species can remain viable for at least 2 weeks on plastic surfaces and for months on the skin, and it’s far more likely to resist antifungals than other Candida species are. It’s spread within health care facilities and from one facility to another. And it can travel easily from patient to patient or from a contaminated surface such as a doorknob to a patient.

The fungus is a stealth killer. As many as 90% to 95% of patients colonized with C auris are asymptomatic but can spread the yeast to others and make them sick. The mortality rate from invasive C auris candidiasis—a serious infection in the blood, brain, heart, or other parts of the body—is thought to be as high as 60%, Lockhart said, but pinning that number down is challenging because affected patients typically have a variety of comorbidities that could contribute to their death.

As Lockhart, a senior advisor in the Mycotic Diseases Branch at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes, C auris is “the new kid on the block,” presenting the rare opportunity to observe the emergence of a pathogenic microbe in real time.