A rare mold that can cause brain abscesses has drawn headlines describing it as on the rise. The CDC report behind those headlines tells a narrower story. It counts 49 cases of Cladophialophora bantiana, 48 confirmed and one probable, detected at a single University of Washington reference laboratory from January 2009 through July 2026, according to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report was posted as an early release on Oct. 2 and appeared in the CDC's Oct. 15 weekly issue.
The rise at that lab appears to be real, the researchers say, and the infection is serious. But the numbers are small, they come from one testing site, and they cannot show how common the infection is across the country.
.png?w=600)
