Schumer Calls On CDC To Declare Emergency In Superbug Fight

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer is calling on the Centers for Disease Control to declare an emergency and unlock special funding to stem a potentially deadly drug-resistant fungus that’s been spreading at health care facilities.

Schumer, the Senate Democratic Leader, said declaring an emergency over the Candida Auris fungus could make his home state of New York eligible for potentially millions of dollars in public health crisis response funding.

More than half of the 613 confirmed cases in the U.S. have been in New York.

Illinois has had 156 confirmed cases of the fungus. New Jersey has had 106.