Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fungal Surveillance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CDC highlights expanded testing and response for drug‑resistant fungal infections
Summary
CDC officials said the AR Lab Network has expanded specialized testing to detect and respond to drug‑resistant fungal pathogens such as Candida auris and azole‑resistant Aspergillus, enabling earlier outbreak containment in health‑care settings.
Dr. Gwen Biggerstaff described advances in fungal pathogen surveillance and laboratory capacity, noting that clinical laboratories often lack capacity to identify fungi or perform antifungal susceptibility testing. Through the Antimicrobial Resistance Laboratory Network, public health laboratories can now provide specialized testing—species identification, susceptibility testing, and colonization screening—that many clinical labs cannot.
Biggerstaff said early detection of Candida auris through clinical isolates or screening can prompt specific infection‑control measures (isolation precautions, specialized environmental disinfection and PPE) and that point‑prevalence surveys can help measure the extent of transmission in a facility to guide containment strategies. She and other panelists stressed that gaps remain in awareness, diagnostics and available antifungal treatments, and that continued investment is needed to expand diagnostic options and surveillance for emerging fungal threats.
The panel recommended maintaining investments in AR Lab Network capacity and training to ensure sustained readiness for fungal and other emerging resistant pathogens.
