#5: Candida Auris2018’s No. 1 emerging infection to watch out for is a continuing concern in 2019 as well. Candida auris, a type of yeast, is particularly pesky because it is often multidrug-resistant, is outbreak-prone in health care-related settings, and is difficult to identify. There have been nearly 500 cases confirmed in the United States as of December 21, 2018.

“C auris is not easily identified. You need [matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry] or DNA sequencing,” Tom Chiller, MD, MPH, chief of the Mycotic Diseases Branch, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Contagion® earlier this year. “It’s unfortunately easily transmitted. It’s on our skin so it can readily contaminate health care environments. It’s difficult to treat because of the multidrug resistance, and it causes severe infections like invasive candidiasis.” (Contagion-Infectious Diseases Today, Jan 1, 2019).