This nasty little thing is getting a lot of press lately thanks to an outbreak in Nevada, so I’d like to say a few words. I’ll start with a quote from the CDC:
“Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat. 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.”
It has been on my radar for a while now, but thankfully I have not had any first hand experience. Currently, I can’t even run a test for it easily. The people most likely to get a C. auris infection are already very sick for other reasons. Normal healthy people with normal healthy immune systems are unlikely to be infected with it. Colonization, however, is another matter. You can learn more about that from Medline.
Because it is a yeast — not bacteria — antibiotics will not kill it. In fact, antibiotics make someone more susceptible to it! Antifungal medications are needed. I’ve been asked what symptoms to watch out for. The fact is that depends on where it is: blood, urine, lungs, skin. Blood is most serious for reasons that should be obvious.
In my facility, we will focus on the basics that keep patients safe from pathogens. I do have contacts at the state and local health departments that I can reach out to as necessary, in addition to experts within my corporate structure. I will use guidance from both the CDC and the Association for Professionals in Infection Prevention. Until and unless I receive guidance otherwise, persons suspected of being infected or colonized with C. auris will have the same sorts of contact precautions as those with CRE.
As always, keeping your hands clean is your best defense against infection, in or out of the hospital.