Another dangerous bug is spreading across the country, and scientists say it has a new way to hide

 According to a new study, a drug-resistant fungus that can cause serious infections may have a new way to disrupt the body’s defenses. Researchers found that Candida auris can hide deep inside hair follicles and change the immune response. This also allows it to remain on the skin for a long time.

Nearly 3,000 cases have been reported in 23 U.S. states this year, with Texas reporting the highest number. Health officials continue to warn that the fungus poses the greatest risk to people with weakened immune systems.

Fungus Can Evade the Body’s Natural Defences

According to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Candida auris was compared with Candida albicans in laboratory mice to understand why the newer fungus is harder to eliminate from the skin.

They found that C. albicans disappeared within days after triggering an immune response known as IL-17, which helps repair the skin and fight fungal infections. Meanwhile, C. auris remained inside hair follicles and triggered interferon gamma, an immune signal normally used to fight viruses.

The researchers said the fungus alters its outer wall by exposing a substance called chitin. That change then signals immune cells to release interferon gamma. Instead of clearing the fungus, the response slows the replacement of damaged hair follicle cells and creates conditions that allow the organism to survive.

Dr. Suzanne Noble, a UCSF microbiology professor and co-senior author of the study, said, “Chitin is widespread in nature, so it’s not like the human skin never encounters it, but we were surprised to see that C. auris actively uses its chitin to turn the skin into a perfect nest.”

Cases Continue to Rise Across the Country

First identified in Japan in 2009 and detected in the United States in 2016, Candida auris spreads mainly in hospitals and nursing homes. There, it can survive on surfaces for weeks. Some strains resist all major classes of antifungal drugs, leading the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to classify it as an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat.

For most healthy people, the fungus causes no serious illness and may remain on the skin without symptoms for months. However, carriers can unknowingly spread it to medically vulnerable patients. When invasive infections develop, symptoms may include fever, chills, fatigue, low blood pressure and a rapid heart rate.

Dr. Ari Molofsky, a UCSF immunologist and co-senior author of the study, said, “It’s only when it reaches deeper tissues in medically vulnerable patients that it becomes dangerous. Understanding how it survives on the skin may help explain how it eventually causes serious infections.”

The CDC reportedly estimated that up to 60% of people with invasive C. auris infections have died, although many had serious underlying medical conditions. The agency says the fungus contributes to about 3,000 deaths in the United States each year. According to researchers, there is still no reliable way to completely remove C. auris from the skin, but the new findings could help guide future treatments.