A drug-resistant superbug dubbed an \u201curgent\u201d threat by health officials has spread across nearly two dozen US states \u2014 and its highly generic symptoms make it difficult to spot.<\/p>\n
The deadly fungus, known as Candida auris,<\/a> has been reported in 23 states with more than 3,000 cases so far this year,\u00a0 according to the Centers for Disease Control<\/a> \u2014 mostly in nursing homes and hospitals.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rapid emergence around the world and the speed of spread in the U.S. is alarming,\u201d <\/a>Susan Huang, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine, told Healthline.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThe public should definitely be aware of this concern and how it may impact them or those they care about.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliver Kurzai holds a petri dish containing the yeast candida auris in a laboratory at Wuerzburg University in Wuerzburg. picture alliance via Getty Images<\/p>\n The superbug \u2014 which is estimated to have caused death in up to 60% people infected by it\u2014 is a type of yeast that enters the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body.<\/p>\n It spreads via contact with infected people or by touching it on an infected surface.<\/p>\n It has strains resistant to all types of medications, and has been labeled an \u201curgent antimicrobial resistance threat\u201d by the CDC.<\/p>\n Symptoms depend on where the infection is located but tend to include chills, fever, fatigue \u2014 common complaints that can throw off doctors.<\/p>\n