Candida Auris Strikes Again! CDC Reports Two Outbreaks of Deadliest Drug-Resistant Strain in the US

Candida auris outbreaks have been reported in the United States, and they were found to be pan-resistant, which means that they are resistant to all antibiotics and antifungal treatments. Since it is difficult to treat, this could be the deadliest strain ever reported in the country.

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Candida auris is a newly discovered fungus that poses a new danger to human health worldwide. Although, this type of fungus is different from the black fungus detected among COVID-19 patients in India.

Candida auris Outbreaks in the US

Last week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) by the CDC announces that the health agency identified two independent outbreaks of pan-resistant strains of the deadly yeast: two hospitals in Dallas, Texas, and one nursing home in Washington, D.C.

The new strain is even resistant to three of the known antifungal treatments for C. auris infections. Among the cases in the US, 85% were resistant to azoles, 33% were resistant to amphotericin, and 1% to echinocandins. According to the health department, resistance to echinocandins is problematic for clinical and public health, especially when combined with resistance to the other two antifungal medications.

"These two simultaneous, independent clusters of pan- or echinocandin-resistant C. auris cases in patients with overlapping inpatient health care exposures and without previous echinocandin use provide the first evidence suggesting that pan- or echinocandin-resistant C. auris strains might have been transmitted in the US health care settings," CDC researchers reported.

University of Minnesota CIDRAP News reported that the three pan-resistant cases in Washington were identified through skin colonization of Candida auris at a long-term care facility for severely ill patients. Meanwhile, four out of the seven cases in Texas were also identified through colonization screening; the three other patients had invasive infections.

Dr. Maghan Lyman, one of the report's authors, said that the infections are more severe, especially with colonization cases, because they can be transmitted to other people. Previous studies have shown that 5% or 10% of colonized patients will likely develop invasive infections.

ALSO READ: Candida Auris: Deadly Fungus Found in Hospital Outbreak Isolated for the First Time in Nature

Quick Action to Prevent C. auris Infections Are Needed

According to Infection Control Today, Candida auris was first reported in 2009 when clinicians found the deadly yeast in the discharge of the external ear canal of a 70-year-old patient in Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital. Since then, it has been diagnosed in 40 countries.

Infection prevention expert Elizabeth Jefferson, Ph.D., CIC, told ICT that it only takes one case of C. auris infection to spread to other people and create an outbreak. Clinicians must pay attention and make sure that it remains contained so that it will not spread to other people and endanger public health.

The infection is one of the superbugs in the CDC's urgent list that could pose significant harm to the public. Therefore, the health agency wrote that surveillance, public health reporting, and infection control measures could prevent C. auris infections from spreading. More so, early antifungal susceptibility testing in those with treatment failure should also be considered.