C. auris outbreak in US hospitals
There is an ongoing outbreak of infections caused by Candida auris in healthcare facilities in New York, US. According to the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), C. auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat.
There is an ongoing outbreak of infections caused by Candida auris in healthcare facilities in New York, US. According to the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), C. auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat.
The outbreak is described by Dr Eleanor Adams from the New York State Department of Health, and other colleagues, in the October 2018 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the CDC. “As of February 2018, most confirmed clinical cases in the US had been identified in New York, and case numbers continue to grow,” said the authors. “The reasons for the preponderance of cases in New York are unknown.” The research used a combination of laboratory active surveillance methods, record reviews, site visits, contact tracing with culturing, and environmental culturing to investigate the outbreak. They identified 51 clinical cases and 61 screening cases at interconnected healthcare facilities throughout the city.
Among 572 screening case-patients, 61 (11 per cent) tested positive for the yeast on fungal culture and samples cultured from 15 of 20 healthcare facilities also tested positive for C auris. Environmental surfaces including windows, floors, and bed in the hospital rooms of clinical case-patients also commonly tested positive for C. auris. The researchers identified infection prevention and control lapses at the healthcare facilities, particularly regarding the use of personal protective equipment, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and environmental disinfectants.