Deadly Fungal Infection Found In NYC Spreads At Alarming Rate: Study

NEW YORK CITY — Take note, "The Last of Us" fans — a deadly fungal infection found in New York City is spreading fast, according to a new study.

Cases of Candida auris, a drug-resistant, potentially deadly fungus, tripled across the U.S. in just three years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published Monday found.

New York state has seen 326 clinical cases in the past year, and 1,325 overall since the first U.S. case was detected in 2016, according to CDC data. The counts are even higher by the state department's numbers.

"About half of those diagnosed in the U.S. are NYC area residents," the city's health department website states.

"Infections usually occur in patients who have been admitted to a hospital or nursing home for another reason and often have other serious medical conditions."

Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a statement Wednesday, stressed that New York's ability to track the fungus is "nation-leading."

"Our best tool to address emerging public health threats is being able to identify them before they begin to rapidly spread," she said.

The fungus is found normally throughout the body and on the skin. It’s not a threat to healthy people, but for people with serious medical conditions that land them in the hospital or other health care facilities, infections can be deadly.

C. auris kills about one-third of people who contract it.

The CDC said poor general infection and control practices in health care facilities are a likely cause of the spread, though increased screening may also explain the increase. The agency said the timing of the increase is also likely tied to the strain put on health care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasizes the need for continuing surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control,” CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman, the lead author of the paper, said in a news release.