The mushroom Candidozyma Auris or “Candida Auris” spreads quickly in European hospitals, alerted the ECDC in September 2025.
It is “A serious threat to patients and health systems” Remember the European Disease Prevention and Control Center (ECDC) in a September 11 press release. His latest survey (the fourth of its kind), confirms that Candidozyma Auris formerly “Candida Auris” continues to spread ” in European hospitals. The number of cases is increasing, the epidemics are growing And several countries report continuous local transmission. Cases also increase In France. “These results highlight the importance of early detection and control of transmission in order to avoid rapid and generalized propagation.” Five countries – Spain, Greece, Italy, Romania and Germany – were behind most cases during the decade. Candida Auris resists most drugs antifungals available on the market.
What is the Candida Auris mushroom?
THE Candida Auris is a microorganism of the genus candida being part of the category of yeasts. It was described for the first time in 2009 in Japan in a sample from the auditory duct of a patient. Hence the name “Candida Auris” which means “candidiasis of the ear” in Latin. This germ is increasingly found as a pathogen responsible for many fungal infections (caused by mushrooms therefore) nosocomial, that is to say contracted during a stay in a care establishment such as hospitals, clinics … It would spread in hospitalized patients, those undergoing surgery or intravenous treatment. In humans, he can cause:
- Blood infections (Candidemia),
- Bile infections,
- Wound infections
- Ear infections (otitis),
- Urinary tract infections,
- Skin infections (abscesses associated with the insertion of catheters),
- Heart muscle infections,
- Liver infections,
- Meninges infections (meningitis),
- Bone infections.
How many cases in France?
“Since the first case identified in France retrospectively in 2007, 73 episodes colonization or infections to C. Auris have been reported, mostly import cases of many countries “ According to the Pasteur Institute. Cases that are still “boundaries” in France but “Net acceleration has occurred since 2024” reports the CPIAS Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
What are the symptoms of an infection for candida airs?
- moderate to intense fever,
- aches,
- Intense fatigue.
These symptoms may seem ordinary and mild, but are particularly dangerous for people at risk such as patients whose immune defenses are weakened, infants and the elderly.
The usual laboratory methods do not always allow the Candida Auris precisely, “So much so that it is often poorly identified”, specifies the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec in one of its publications (January 2018). The sequence of the genes, slightly different from other strains, its resistance to different classes of antifungals and its ability to grow at 42 ° C – but not at 45 ° C like the other candidates – are three elements which allow biologists to recognize the Candida Auris.
Very sick people, who carry invasive medical devices or who stay frequently or for a long time in health establishments run an increased risk of contracting the Candida Auris since it is transmitted in the care environments:
- by direct contact from one infected person to another,
- By indirect contact via the environment and contaminated care equipment.
This germ can touch any age group, but especially adults with risk factors (people who have surgery less than 3 months ago, immunocompromised, diabetics, with chronic renal failure, infected with HIV, carrier of a catheter, a endotracheal tube or a probe, taking steroids, elderly …). Newborns are also more at risk.
What are the Candida Auris causes?
Candida Auris is a mysterious germ, still little known by biologists. But where does the Candida Auris come from? “”This fungus, resistant to drugs would have developed thanks to the intensive use of fungicides in crops, which can be found on potatoes, beans, wheat, tomatoes, onions …“, said Dr. Rhodes, specialist in infectious diseases that worked on the epidemic in London. However, this possibility must be verified. Another hypothesis: Candida Auris would be the direct consequence”excessive use of antibiotics by hospitals, thus contributing to the resurgence of drug resistant fungi“, Add other researchers mentioned in the New York Times. According to a study published in 2019 in the Mbio scientific newspaper, this fungus has developed because of global warming. Unlike most mushrooms that do not resist heat, Candida Auris seems very well adapted to higher temperatures. This pathogen would then be able to get out of its”Thermal restriction“, An overly hot area, which prevents most mushrooms from developing in our body,” explains Dr. Arturo Casadevall, the main author of the study.
What treatment to treat an infection for candida auris?
THE Candida Auris is very often resistant to anti-fungal (fluconazole, voriconazole, amphotericin B …) commonly used in the treatment of candida infections, which considerably reduces the treatment capacities and the survival of infected people. In other words, this “super-champion” is capable of developing defenses to survive the treatments. For the moment, extremely few medical options exist. Only preventive and control measures can reduce its proliferation: screening for close contacts in the event of a new case, reinforced hand hygiene, sidelining (only room) of an infected patient …
