CANDIDA AURIS

Course overview

CANDIDA AURIS IS AN EMERGING FUNGAL PATHOGEN THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS AND IS CONSIDERED A SERIOUS GLOBAL HEALTH THREAT. IT HAS NUMEROUS VIRULENCE QUALITIES AND SHOWS MULTI-DRUG RESISTANCE PATTERNS TO COMMON ANTIFUNGAL THERAPY USED FOR OTHER INVASIVE CANDIDA INFECTIONS. YEAST IDENTIFICATION METHODS EMPLOYED BY LABORATORIES TYPICALLY MISIDENTIFY C. AURIS AS OTHER YEASTS MAKING THE DETECTION AND CONTROL OF THIS PATHOGEN DIFFICULT. THE TRANSMISSION OF CANDIDA AURIS OCCURS IN NOSOCOMIAL SETTINGS, EVEN IN THOSE IMPLEMENTING INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL MEASURES. IN THE UNITED STATES, IT IS A NATIONALLY NOTIFIABLE PATHOGEN THAT ALLOWS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH TRACKING AND CONTAINING ITS SPREAD. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION, TREATMENT, AND MANAGEMENT OF CANDIDA AURIS AND EXPLAINS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE CARE OF PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.