Examining Candida Auris Susceptibility Patterns

Candida auris (C auris) continues to be a concerning fungal infection in health care settings. Outbreaks can appear without warning almost anywhere in the world and disappear quickly as well.

First discovered in Japan in 2009, this enigmatic yet emerging fungal infection remains a concern for health care personnel as they try to understand outbreaks but also determine treatment protocols. C auris is often resistant to antifungals.

AdventHealth Orlando, a large hospital system in central Florida, wanted to study C auris susceptibility patterns. The investigators recovered 5 C auris isolates from clinical samples over the course of a year in 2021. They performed susceptibility testing included flucytosine, isavuconazole, voriconazole, amphotericin B, itraconazole, posaconazole, anidulafungin, micafungin and fluconazole.

“All five isolates from AdventHealth Orlando have been resistant to fluconazole and based on our results, this agent should be avoided as part of the treatment optimization when an infection by C auris is confirmed,” the study authors wrote.

The study, “Susceptibility Pattern of Five Candida auris Strains Isolated from Clinical Samples at AdventHealth Central Florida Division, South,” was presented at the 24th Annual Making a Difference in Infectious Disease (MAD-ID) Meeting 2022, in Orlando, Florida from May 18-21.

Contagion spoke to costudy investigator Jose Alexander, MD, D(ABMM), FCCM, CIC, SM, MB(ASCP), BCMAS, director, Microbiology/Virology/Immunology Laboratories, AdventHealth at the meeting who provided insights on the study and the challenges of testing for this elusive fungal infection.