A deadly fungus is spreading rapidly in Chicago and suburban health care facilities.
The Candida auris fungus affects mostly people with multiple underlying conditions. Illinois health officials report 154 cases -- second only to New York. Of those Illinois cases, 95 are in Chicago, 63 in the suburbs and three downstate.
The fungus is often resistant to drug treatment.
The disease came to Illinois by 2016 after it was discovered in Japan in 2009, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Dr. Max Brito is an associate profesor of infections disease at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.
“It’s a combination of factors that makes you more prone to get a bug like this,” Brito told the Tribune. “It’s a concern for people with a chronic disease or a weakened immune system.”
Officials warn people who visit health facilities to clean their hands with soap after coming in contact with a patient or any medical devices.
