Candida Auris, Often Drug-Resistant, Found in 7 States

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS

As of mid-May 2017, a total of 77 clinical cases of Candida auris in U.S. health care facilities were reported to the CDC, according to a report in MMWR. The agency first warned about the often multidrug-resistant fungus in June 2016.

Of the 77 cases, 53 occurred in New York, 16 in New Jersey, and the rest in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma. All cases were found on cultures during routine patient care. Screening for colonization of close contacts — usually patients on the same ward — revealed an additional 45 patients from whom C. auris was isolated. The fungus was also isolated from patients' mattresses, windowsills, chairs, and countertops.

Testing of the first 35 clinical isolates found that 86% were resistant to fluconazole, and 43% were resistant to amphotericin B. One isolate was resistant to echinocandins.

The authors say the data suggest that the fungus "can spread within health care facilities and that interventions are needed to prevent transmission during this early stage of C. auris emergence."