Hospital-Associated Multicenter Outbreak of Emerging Fungus Candida auris, Colombia, 2016

• Main Authors: Paige A. Armstrong, Sandra M. Rivera, Patricia Escandon, Diego H. Caceres, Nancy Chow, Matthew J. Stuckey, Jorge Díaz, Adriana Gomez, Norida Vélez, Andres Espinosa-Bode, Soraya Salcedo, Adriana Marin, Indira Berrio, Carmen Varón, Angel Guzman, Jairo E. Pérez-Franco, Julian D. Escobar, Nohora Villalobos, Juan M. Correa, Anastasia P. Litvintseva, Shawn R. Lockhart, Ryan Fagan, Tom M. Chiller, Brendan Jackson, Oscar Pacheco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2019-07-01
• Series: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: fungi; candidemia; resistance; healthcare associated; Candida auris; antimicrobial resistance
• Online Access: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/25/7/18-0491_article

Candida auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant fungus that causes hospital-associated outbreaks of invasive infections with high death rates. During 2015–2016, health authorities in Colombia detected an outbreak of C. auris. We conducted an investigation to characterize the epidemiology, transmission mechanisms, and reservoirs of this organism. We investigated 4 hospitals with confirmed cases of C. auris candidemia in 3 cities in Colombia. We abstracted medical records and collected swabs from contemporaneously hospitalized patients to assess for skin colonization. We identified 40 cases; median patient age was 23 years (IQR 4 months–56 years). Twelve (30%) patients were <1 year of age, and 24 (60%) were male. The 30-day mortality was 43%. Cases clustered in time and location; axilla and groin were the most commonly colonized sites. Temporal and spatial clustering of cases and skin colonization suggest person-to-person transmission of C. auris. These cases highlight the importance of adherence to infection control recommendations.