Epidemiology and drug resistance among Candida pathogens in Africa: Candida auris could now be leading the pack

Globally, 1 565 000 people have invasive candidiasis every year. These individuals are mainly immunocompromised people, including critically ill patients in the intensive care unit, people receiving extended use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, and of late, individuals with complications of post-COVID-19 condition (also known as long COVID). Invasive candidiasis is often misdiagnosed and accounts for 995 000 deaths (63·6% of all cases) annually.1 As per estimates, Africa has a greater share of the invasive candidiasis burden than the rest of the world.