An actress in the US was left “looking like a monster” after she came into contact with a deadly fungus, according to her daughter. Denise DuBarry died aged 63 after contracting Candida auris while in hospital for care for another illness. The infection has made headlines with cases reported in states across America.

Samantha Lockwood, 40, shared that her mum was in a horrific state after contracting the fungus, described as “a serious global health threat” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Denise died in 2019 but her family has been spoken to amid skyrocketing cases of fungal infections.

Candida auris colonises the patient’s skin before finding its way into the bloodstream through open wounds. It is devastating for those suffering with a weakened immune system.

“It was pretty horrific situation, to be brutally honest,” Samantha said.

The actress told the Daily Mail of her mum’s battle: “Having seen my mom in such a state, I cannot even wish it on my worst enemy, what I saw.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have described the alarming spread as “a serious global health threat”.

Samantha Lockwood said she ‘cannot even wish it on my worst enemy’ after seeing her mum

“When I saw her, one of her eyes was completely bugged out of her head.

“She’s a gorgeous woman. She looked like a monster. She was swollen with edema, she had tubes coming out of her throat, her tongue was swollen out of her face.”

Denise had been hospitalized in California with a sinus infection in March 2019, and was transferred to another hospital where Samantha said she picked up the fungus.

The mortality rate for infected patients is a terrifying 30 to 60 percent, the federal body said.

Nevada saw the most cases of the fungus in 2022, with a staggering 384 instances.

California had 359, Florida had 349, New York had 326 and Illinois had 276.

Candida auris does not respond to commonly used antifungal drugs, making infections difficult to treat.

The fungus was identified in 2009 in Asia, but scientists have said it first appeared around the world about a decade earlier.

Dr Meghan Lyman, chief medical officer of the CDC’s mycotic diseases branch, said the increases, “especially in the most recent years, are really concerning to us”.

“We’ve seen increases not just in areas of ongoing transmission, but also in new areas,” she said.