Overview
- The CDC published an Atlanta-area review this week that identified about 450 confirmed invasive mold cases from 2020–2024 and found roughly one-third of hospitalized patients died in hospital.
- Researchers screened nearly 1,000 possible cases from four hospitals and outpatient clinics and classified 449 as invasive mold disease after medical-record review.
- The report gives hospitals a benchmark of about 3 to 5 cases per year for every 100 inpatient beds and shows larger academic centers have higher rates because they treat sicker patients.
- Many patients were immunocompromised or weakened after COVID-19 and the infections were severe: about half required ventilators, 43% were moved to intensive care within two weeks, and 45% died within 90 days in the Atlanta series.
- The illnesses are not nationally reportable, leaving national trends unclear, so experts are urging broader regional surveillance and similar studies to track rising risks tied to floods, extreme weather and an aging population.