Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Health Department are gaining a clearer understanding of the factors that contribute to clinical cases of Candida auris, a hazardous and drug-resistant fungus that has been spreading swiftly.

In a study released this month, the researchers analyzed patients exposed to the fungus from 2019 to 2023 and identified seven risk factors for infection. Serious cases were found to be more common when patients relied on tube feeding, were bedridden, or couldn’t be moved to another location.

Furthermore, individuals with five or more coexisting health conditions, those with four or more invasive devices (like catheters or IVs), or those with three or more recent medical procedures faced a higher risk of developing a Candida auris infection.

Another risk factor identified was age. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, individuals aged 50 to 64 were more susceptible.

This recent research aligns with previous findings about Candida auris, which was first discovered in the U.S. in 2016. Since then, there has been a significant increase in cases, tripling within just a few months earlier this year.

The CDC has labeled the fungus as “an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat” due to its ability to overcome the drugs intended to eradicate it.

“If you get infected with this pathogen that’s resistant to any treatment, there’s no treatment we can give you to help combat it. You’re all on your own,” Melissa Nolan, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of South Carolina, told Nexstar.

People with a healthy immune system may be able to fight off infection on their own, but the fungus mainly spreads in health care settings, where people are sick and vulnerable.

The fungus can survive on surfaces, like countertops, doorknobs, or even people’s skin, for a long time before spreading to vulnerable patients. People with catheters, breathing tubes, feeding tubes and PICC lines are at the highest risk because the pathogen can enter the body through these types of devices.

A study published in July, which looked at patients with Candida auris primarily in Nevada and Florida, found more than half of patients required admission to the intensive care unit and more than one-third needed mechanical ventilation. More than half of patients, whose average age was between 60 and 64, also needed a blood transfusion.

In the past, the CDC estimated that “based on information from a limited number of patients, 30–60% of people with C. auris infections have died. However, many of these people had other serious illnesses that also increased their risk of death.”