Candida auris: the most talked about multidrug-resistant emerging fungal pathogen
Laszlo Irinyi A B , Richard Malik C and Wieland Meyer A B *A Curtin Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia.
B Westmead Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
C Centre for Veterinary Education, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia.
Dr Laszlo Irinyi is a Research Fellow at Curtin University, WA, Australia and The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. His research centres around the adaptation of next generation sequencing technologies in precision and real-time diagnostic of fungal diseases. In addition, he is interested in leveraging big data archived in public databases for the search of the origin and spread of emerging pathogens, as well as to assess the fungal diversity in various environments using metabarcoding/metagenomic approaches. |
Dr Richard Malik is a veterinarian with a strong interest in infectious diseases, especially fungi and parasites. He works for the Centre for Veterinary Education at the University of Sydney. |
Professor Wieland Meyer is a Molecular Medical Mycologist and academic at the Curtin Medical School, Faculty of Health Science, Curtin University; Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; and the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His research focuses on phylogeny, molecular identification, population genetics, molecular epidemiology, and virulence mechanisms of human and animal pathogenic fungi. He is the Convener of the Mycology Interest Group of ASM, and the President of the International Mycological Association (IMA). |
Microbiology Australia 43(4) 173-176 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA22057
Submitted: 7 November 2022 Accepted: 7 December 2022 Published: 23 December 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Currently Candida auris is the most talked about multidrug-resistant emerging fungal pathogen. It can cause difficult-to-control nosocomial outbreaks worldwide, being highly contagious, and poses serious challenges to public health authorities. A wide spectrum of infections, ranging from superficial mucosal infections, candidemia to disseminated deep-seated disease, having been reported from more than 40 countries, including Australia. Outbreaks are associated with high mortality rates due to rapid transmission and challenges in prevention, control, and treatment. It is shows a high multidrug-resistance (with 90% of isolates resistant to fluconazole), and is extremely tolerant to conditions which usually limit fungal transmission, including commonly used disinfectants. Whole genome analysis has revealed five different closely related clades (named after the geographical areas they have been first encoundered) with distinct clonal lineages. Its environmental niche remained a mystery until recently when it was found in India in association with costal aquatic environments.
Keywords: alternative treament options, Australian situation, Candida auris, clinical issues, emerging fungal pathogens, environmental sources, laboratory identification, multidrug resistance.
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