Brain-infecting mold in the US: 8.4 detections per 1,000 samples in 2017–2023, 26 in 2025 (+210%)

A US reference lab found 1–5 cases a year of the brain-infecting mold Cladophialophora bantiana from 2009 to 2023, then 8 in 2024 and 14 in 2025. Per 1,000 brain samples tested, detections rose from 8.4 (2017–2023 average) to 26 in 2025 (+210%).