On Fruits and Fungi: A Risk of Antifungal Usage in Food Storage and Distribution in Driving Drug Resistance in Candida auris

The continuous emergence of antifungal drug resistance is a mounting concern for the treatment of fungal infections worldwide. While many pathogenic fungi exhibit some level of antifungal drug resistance, the identification of Candida auris has brought this phenomenon to the fore in recent years. C. auris exhibits resistance to all antifungal drugs used for treatment, and it does so at a very high rate, with more than 90% of isolates being resistant to at least one drug and roughly 4% being panresistant. However, the environmental factors driving this exceptionally high antifungal drug resistance remain unidentified. The presence of C. auris on stored apples that are treated with antifungals during storage suggests a possible route to selection of drug-resistant C. auris isolates that may have contributed to the evolution of this deadly pathogen. This study further suggests that the adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” may need to be revisited in light of the discovery of C. auris on the surface of apples.