Missouri Says Sudden Huge Jump in Multidrug-Resistant Infections

There's a trouble jump in cases of multidrug-resistant infections in Missouri and health officials are sounding the alarms.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services just issued an advisory this week after seeing a huge spike in cases of a multidrug-resistant infection. They say the culprit is Candida auris which is a fungus that the CDC says "can cause severe, often multidrug-resistant, infections".

This graph shows the immediate jump in Missouri cases of this fungus just in the month of June 2024.

The bulletin from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services says they continue to learn about cases of this dangerous fungus "within health care facilities in the Saint Louis Metro area". There have been a total of 65 cases of this fungus in Missouri just in the past 4 years alone according to their alert.

The state of Missouri health officials say that symptoms of colonization of this fungus can behave similar to a bacterial infection. They note that several strains of C. Auris are resistant to all known treatment methods.

One problem with this troublesome fungus is it can live on surfaces for weeks which makes it even more dangerous for those whose immune symptoms and/or health make them more vulnerable.