Uploaded July 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Candida auris, an emerging multidrug-resistant microorganism, was first identified in 2009 in Asia and has quickly become a cause of severe infections around the world according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is as yeast which is a type of fungi.
The agency listed C. auris as a concerning drug-resistant fungus because it is:
• Often multidrug-resistant, with some strains resistant to all three available classes of antifungals
• Can cause outbreaks in healthcare facilities
• Some common healthcare disinfectants are less effective at eliminating it
• Can be carried on patients’ skin without causing infection, allowing spread to others
While the risk of C. auris infection in otherwise healthy people is low, in some hospitalized patients with a weakened immune system it can cause wound infections, ear infections and bloodstream infections which can spread throughout the body. These invasive infections can be serious and fatal. It has also been isolated from respiratory and urine specimens, but it is unclear if it causes infections in the lung or bladder according to the CDC.
The agency goes on to report that it can be spread in healthcare settings through contact with contaminated environmental surfaces or equipment, or from person to person. CDC also warns that patients and residents in healthcare facilities often remain colonized with C. auris for many months, perhaps indefinitely, even after acute infection (if present) has been treated and resolves.
These are just a few of the many things to know about Candida auris shared by the CDC. To learn more about this or other infection control, industrial hygiene, environmental, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
CTSI ctsiweb.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine healthyindoors.com
Candida auris, an emerging multidrug-resistant microorganism, was first identified in 2009 in Asia and has quickly become a cause of severe infections around the world according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is as yeast which is a type of fungi.
The agency listed C. auris as a concerning drug-resistant fungus because it is:
• Often multidrug-resistant, with some strains resistant to all three available classes of antifungals
• Can cause outbreaks in healthcare facilities
• Some common healthcare disinfectants are less effective at eliminating it
• Can be carried on patients’ skin without causing infection, allowing spread to others
While the risk of C. auris infection in otherwise healthy people is low, in some hospitalized patients with a weakened immune system it can cause wound infections, ear infections and bloodstream infections which can spread throughout the body. These invasive infections can be serious and fatal. It has also been isolated from respiratory and urine specimens, but it is unclear if it causes infections in the lung or bladder according to the CDC.
The agency goes on to report that it can be spread in healthcare settings through contact with contaminated environmental surfaces or equipment, or from person to person. CDC also warns that patients and residents in healthcare facilities often remain colonized with C. auris for many months, perhaps indefinitely, even after acute infection (if present) has been treated and resolves.
These are just a few of the many things to know about Candida auris shared by the CDC. To learn more about this or other infection control, industrial hygiene, environmental, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
CTSI ctsiweb.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine healthyindoors.com
