For Public Health and Healthcare Professionals: Investigating Fungal Disease Outbreaks

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A fungal disease outbreak occurs when two or more people get sick from contact with the same source, sometimes at the same time and place. This can happen outdoors or in a health care setting, such as a hospital.

Detecting fungal outbreaks early is important so that the people affected can get the right treatment and so that health officials can prevent others from getting sick.

Public Health and Healthcare Professionals: here’s what to do if you suspect a fungal disease outbreak.

For healthcare-associated outbreaks (HAIs):

  • Contact your state health department’s healthcare-associated infection (HAI) coordinator to consult on immediate next steps.
  • A toolkit for investigating healthcare-associated infections provides resources for conducting an investigation.
  • Candida auris
    • Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat.
    • CDC encourages all U.S. healthcare facility or laboratory staff who identify Candida auris to notify their state or local public health authorities.
    • Health departments can contact CDC for guidance on investigating Candida auris cases and preventing transmission at candidaauris@cdc.gov.
    • Learn more about information for laboratorians and health professionals about Candida auris.
  • Molds such as Aspergillus and mucormycetes
    • First, healthcare facilities and clinical laboratories requesting assistance should contact their state or local public health authorities.
    • Public health authorities, healthcare facilities, and laboratories can request CDC assistance with fungal diagnostics and epidemiologic investigations by emailing FungalOutbreaks@cdc.gov.
    • For more information about investigating mold outbreaks, visit CDC’s About Healthcare-Associated Mold Outbreaks page.
    • For more information about indoor mold, including cleanup and remediation recommendations, please visit CDC’s Basic Facts about Mold web page.

For fungal disease outbreaks that are not healthcare-associated:

  • First, healthcare facilities and clinical laboratories should contact their state or local public health authorities about a suspected outbreak.
  • Public health authorities are encouraged to consult CDC on epidemiologic investigations and laboratory testing by emailing FungalOutbreaks@cdc.gov.
  • Examples of these types of outbreaks include histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, and blastomycosis.
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