Candida auris (or C. auris) is a fungus that is causing serious infections in patients in the United States, including New Jersey. C. auris is primarily found in healthcare settings, particularly in long-term acute care hospitals and nursing homes that take care of patients on ventilators. Patients can carry C. auris on their body, even if it is not making them sick. This is called colonization. When people in hospitals and nursing homes are colonized, C. auris can spread from their bodies and can get on other people or nearby objects, allowing the fungus to spread to people around them. In some patients, this fungus can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body, causing serious invasive infections. This fungus often does not respond to commonly used antifungal drugs, making infections difficult to treat.
The New Jersey Department of Health responds to all reports of C. auris in New Jersey and supports prevention efforts through surveillance testing and infection prevention recommendations. If C. auris is suspected or identified, contact your local health department and the NJDOH Communicable Disease Service at (609) 826-5964.
New Jersey C. auris Case Count (as of February 1, 2024)
Total case count: 1,704
Confirmed surveillance case count: 1,204
Confirmed surveillance cases are individuals colonized by Candida that have been confirmed as C. auris in the laboratory.
Confirmed clinical case count: 478 (103 of which were surveillance to clinical)
Confirmed clinical cases are individuals with clinical Candida infections that have been confirmed as C. auris in the laboratory.
Probable clinical case count: 22
Probable clinical cases are those with presumptive laboratory evidence and evidence of epidemiologic linkage, and either the isolate was not available for confirmatory testing or has not yet undergone further testing.
Clinical cases (confirmed and probable) of C. auris 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 classified according to definitions established by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and. National case counts on C. auris is reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Please note: Cases initially identified as surveillance cases that subsequently developed clinical infections are solely reported as clinical cases above in order to avoid double-counting the same individuals.
