Examining Candidemia Mortality Rates Around the World

Snigdha Vallabhaneni, MD, MPH, Medical Epidemiologist, Mycotic Diseases Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses candidemia mortality rates in low- and middle-income versus developed countries.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“Mortality with candidemia, from any species, is about 30% to 50%, and it’s higher in low- and middle-income countries, and a little bit on the lower end in the developed world. In the US it’s about 30%, and that’s about the rate of mortality we’ve been seeing with Candida auris.

We still haven’t elucidated risk factors for what, specifically, would cause death. I think the severity of the underlying illness is probably the best predictor. It’s possible that resistant isolates, because it’s harder to treat them, may be a risk factor for death, but we don’t know that yet.”