Candida auris is an emerging pathogen that results in nosocomial infections and is considered a serious global health problem. It was first observed as a novel Candida species in 2009 and has been isolated in 35 countries.
C. auris may cause invasive infections associated with high mortality. It is considered a multi-drug resistant species, having variable resistance patterns to many typical antifungal agents used to treat other Candida infections.
The CDC is concerned about C. auris for three main reasons:
- It is often multidrug-resistant, meaning that it is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs commonly used to treat Candida infections. Some strains are resistant to all three available classes of antifungals.
- It is difficult to identify with standard laboratory methods, and it can be misidentified in labs without specific technology. Misidentification may lead to inappropriate management.
- It has caused outbreaks in healthcare settings. For this reason, it is important to quickly identify C. auris in a hospitalized patient so that healthcare facilities can take special precautions to stop its spread.
Resources for Candida auris:
General Information:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/candida-auris/candida-auris-qanda.html
- Multi-lingual fact sheets on Candida auris by the CDC: contains information on Candida auris.what we need to know, cases over time and global threat of the disease in languages such as English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Haitian – Candida auris: A multi-drug resistant pathogen
Infection Prevention:
- Infection Prevention and Control for Candida auris: contains infection prevention guidelines and transmission based precaution – https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/candida-auris/c-auris-infection-control.html
- Candida Auris toolkit: This toolkit includes a set of resources that your facility can utilize to detect, manage and control Candida auris and to communicate C. auris information to other healthcare providers, patients and families – https://hip.phila.gov/disease-control/healthcare-associated-infections-antibiotic-resistance/candida-auris-toolkit/
- National Notifiable Disease Surveillance system tracking as per number of cases by state in the U.S – https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/candida-auris/fact-sheets/index.html
- Strategies to Prevent Transmission of Candida auris in Healthcare Settings – https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12281-023-00451-7
For Healthcare Providers:
- Treatment and management of Candida auris infection and colonization – https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/candida-auris/c-auris-treatment.html
