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How a deadly fungus is so good at sticking to skin and other surfaces

Unlike other fungi, Candida auris uses electrical charges to glom onto things

A magnified image of Candida auris, seen in blue, while nearby immune cells are seen in yellow.

Candida auris (blue, shown magnified 5,000 times) has developed a barnacle-like method for sticking to surfaces. This electron micrograph shows the fungus sticking to a catheter used in a rat. Immune cells are shown in yellow.

Robert Zarnowski

By Tina Hesman Saey

Candida auris, a fungus that causes sometimes deadly infections, can stick to almost any surface.