By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

The California Department of Health issued a health advisory last week due to increasing reports of the multi-drug resistant organism (MDRO), Candida auris (C. auris).

Image/CDC

State and local health officials have say an increasing number of C. auris cases reported in southern California in recent months. Personal protective equipment (PPE) conservation strategies and other containment practices (e.g., cohorting) on the basis of COVID-19 status alone might be contributing to this resurgence of C. auris.

The number of newly identified C. auris cases in California more than doubled from May (N=15) to June (N=40); and the number of newly identified C. auris cases in July (N=73) exceeded the combined total for April, May and June (N=59).

Most recently, C. auris outbreaks have been reported in healthcare facilities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

According to the CDC, Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat. C. auris causes severe illness in hospitalized patients in several countries, including the United States. Patients can remain colonized with C. auris for a long time and C. auris can persist on surfaces in healthcare environments. This can result in spread of C. auris between patients in healthcare facilities.

Strains of C. auris in the United States have been linked to other parts of the world. U.S. C. auris cases are a result of inadvertent introduction into the United States from a patient who recently received healthcare in a country where C. auris has been reported or a result of local spread after such an introduction.

U.S. cases of C. auris have been found in patients who had recent stays in healthcare facilities in India, Kenya, Kuwait, Pakistan, South Africa, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela, which also have documented cases.