LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Hospitals in the Las Vegas valley continue to combat infections tied to Candida auris — a fungus on the short list of highly drug-resistant “superbugs” monitored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
And an update posted Monday, Dec. 9 by the CDC indicates about 13% of clinical infections from the fungus last year occurred in Nevada health care facilities.
In October, the most recent month with complete reporting from state health officials, Nevada hospitals reported 235 new cases involving the fungus, commonly referred to as C. auris. That’s the highest number of cases since April in the short history of infections that were first detected in the state in August 2021.
Cases could be on a downswing, following a pattern of peaks in March and October each year. Data for November and December is still incomplete. Increased testing at health care facilities around the state shows the fungus has been detected at acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals and nursing homes.
Dangers associated with the fungus come from its ability to survive conditions that kill most bacteria. It is resistant to drugs and temperature extremes. C. auris can spread on human skin and cause infections in open wounds or invasive procedures, including the use of catheters.
Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center has had the highest number of cases since reporting from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) began. Since 2021, Sunrise has detected 1,654 cases. That’s about 34% of all C. auris cases statewide.
Clinical infection or colonization?
There are two distinct types of cases — serious clinical infections, which can cause death, and colonization cases, when the fungus is present on the skin and presents a threat of spreading. Statewide, 34% of all cases are clinical infections.
DHHS stopped reporting the number of deaths associated with C. auris about a year ago because of the difficulty in pinning down the precise role the infection played in each death. Cases usually involve patients with more than one health problem, and victims are usually older — 70% are age 60 or above.
A University of Pittsburgh infectious disease specialist told NewsNation affiliate KLAS in February that about 20-40% of victims with serious infections usually die as a direct result of the fungus.
‘Superbug’ cases in Nevada hospitals
At Sunrise, 610 of all the cases were clinical infections, with the remaining 1,044 classified as colonization. The five health care facilities with the highest number of cases in the state are all in the Las Vegas valley:
Three acute care hospitals: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Valley Hospital Medical Center, Spring Valley Hospital and Medical Center; and two long-term acute care hospitals: Kindred Hospital Flamingo – Las Vegas, and Horizon Specialty Hospital Las Vegas.
A complete breakdown of clinical and colonization cases by health care facility appears below:
The DHHS report as of Dec. 9, 2024, doesn’t align with previous reports. More than 250 cases previously reported on Aug. 28 have been removed, and several facilities have been reclassified as acute care hospitals. Still, the growth in C. auris case counts continues.
Since September 2022, more than 100 new cases per month have been reported. That increased to at least 150 cases per month a year later, including four months in a row above 200 cases. The highest number of cases came in March 2024, when 293 were reported — 59 clinical infections and 234 colonization cases.
C. auris update from the CDC
On Monday, Dec. 9, the CDC updated its nationwide data on C. auris. The update focused on clinical cases through the end of 2023. Among the CDC findings:
- 4,514 clinical cases nationwide
- California: 642 clinical cases
- Nevada: 599 clinical cases
- Florida: 568 clinical cases
Nevada which has a population (2023 estimate: 3,194,176 — No. 32 in the U.S.) much smaller than most states, ranks second for the number of clinical cases.
With 599 clinical cases, Nevada health care facilities accounted for 13% of C. auris infections nationwide. DHHS data showed the number was even higher — 620 clinical cases in 2023 — about 14% of the total number of U.S. clinical cases.
That’s down slightly from 2022, when Nevada accounted for 16% of cases nationwide, according to CDC data.
Sunrise Hospital ‘superbug’ cases
KLAS interviewed Dr. Steven Merta, chief medical officer at Sunrise, earlier this year. He explained why the hospital has more cases than other health care facilities, and what the hospital is doing to combat the fungus.
“We have the most critically ill patients, we have those that are immunocompromised. We have those that have burns and wounds. So to have higher numbers of both clinical and colonization absolutely does not surprise us,” Merta said. “Our goal is to identify you, protect you, treat you and make sure that we are at the forefront of preventing the spread of c. auris in our facility and our community.”
Health officials want patients to know that they are safe and they shouldn’t worry about coming to the hospital.
“Know that we go above and beyond the normal CDC recommendations in terminal cleaning with our advanced purification systems. So our goal is to be here for you, our community. If you need us, do not hesitate to come to the facility, come to Sunrise,” Merta said.
He said Sunrise tests more people for the fungus than other acute care hospitals. For more information about testing and procedures at Sunrise, see our June 1 report.
