Published on
11/09/2025 – 10:00 GMT+2


ADVERTISEMENT

A drug-resistant fungus is spreading “rapidly” in hospitals across Europe, with health authorities calling for additional efforts to keep it in check.

The fungus, Candidozyma auris or C. auris, spreads easily in health clinics and often evades the drugs meant to kill it. Infections can be serious, particularly for already-sick patients, according to the new report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

More than 4,000 cases were reported in the European Union and nearby countries between 2013 and 2023, with cases rising significantly over time, the ECDC said.

Spain, Greece, Italy, Romania, and Germany have seen the most cases overall, and Cyprus, France, and Germany have reported recent outbreaks. In 2023, the fungus, which was formerly known as Candida auris, was found in 18 countries.

In some parts of Europe, C. auris is now “so widespread it is not possible to distinguish between outbreaks anymore, it is almost endemic in hospital settings,” Diamantis Plachouras, head of the ECDC’s antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections team, said during a press briefing.

Yet the true toll is likely underreported. Among the 36 European countries included in the new report, just 17 have national surveillance programmes for C. auris, and only 15 have specific guidelines to prevent or control infections.

The fungus’s ability to survive on surfaces and medical equipment, and to spread quickly between patients, makes it challenging to control, the ECDC said. Not all common hospital disinfectants work against it, meaning regular cleaning is not enough to prevent its spread, Plachouras added.

While infected people may get a fever and chills, C. auris does not come with a common set of symptoms. They can range based on whether someone is infected in their bloodstream, a wound, or their ears.

Plachouras said lab testing is required to detect outbreaks.

C. auris was first reported in Japan in 2009. Once it has been found in a country for the first time, it takes only a few years for it to become widespread, Plachouras said.

Plachouras said the fungus typically emerges when a patient has first been hospitalised in another country where C. auris is present, and then imports it into the new country.

The ECDC called on countries and health systems to shore up their early detection and control efforts to stop the spread of the fungus.

“It’s something that is very worrying and it’s certainly a threat for patients’ safety in hospitals across Europe,” Plachouras said.