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. 2021 Oct 5;73(7):1142-1148.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab327.

Positive Correlation Between Candida auris Skin-Colonization Burden and Environmental Contamination at a Ventilator-Capable Skilled Nursing Facility in Chicago

Affiliations

Positive Correlation Between Candida auris Skin-Colonization Burden and Environmental Contamination at a Ventilator-Capable Skilled Nursing Facility in Chicago

D Joseph Sexton et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Candida auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant yeast that contaminates healthcare environments causing healthcare-associated outbreaks. The mechanisms facilitating contamination are not established.

Methods: C. auris was quantified in residents' bilateral axillary/inguinal composite skin swabs and environmental samples during a point-prevalence survey at a ventilator-capable skilled-nursing facility (vSNF A) with documented high colonization prevalence. Environmental samples were collected from all doorknobs, windowsills and handrails of each bed in 12 rooms. C. auris concentrations were measured using culture and C. auris-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) The relationship between C. auris concentrations in residents' swabs and associated environmental samples were evaluated using Kendall's tau-b (τ b) correlation coefficient.

Results: C. auris was detected in 70/100 tested environmental samples and 31/57 tested resident skin swabs. The mean C. auris concentration in skin swabs was 1.22 × 105 cells/mL by culture and 1.08 × 106 cells/mL by qPCR. C. auris was detected on all handrails of beds occupied by colonized residents, as well as 10/24 doorknobs and 9/12 windowsills. A positive correlation was identified between the concentrations of C. auris in skin swabs and associated handrail samples based on culture (τ b = 0.54, P = .0004) and qPCR (τ b = 0.66, P = 3.83e-6). Two uncolonized residents resided in beds contaminated with C. auris.

Conclusions: Colonized residents can have high C. auris burdens on their skin, which was positively related with contamination of their surrounding healthcare environment. These findings underscore the importance of hand hygiene, transmission-based precautions, and particularly environmental disinfection in preventing spread in healthcare facilities.

Keywords: Candida auris; HAI; fungi; infection control; transmission.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Facility map with culture-based and qPCR results for residents and associated environmental surfaces. The specific organization of beds within a room may differ from the image.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Environmental contamination of the bed handrails (Y-axis) shown in relationship to the occupying resident’s skin colonization burden (X-axis) with culture-based (panel A) and qPCR-based (panel B) methods. Gray points indicate the average of both the left and right handrails associated with a given resident. Linear regression shown for visual aid. Relationship between environmental contamination on handrails and resident colonization burden assessed with non-parametric Kendall’s tau-B.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Concentrations of C. auris on the left and right handrails of each resident’s bed. Culture results are shown in the left panel and qPCR results are shown the right panel. Left and Right sides of the bed indicated with an “L” and “R”, respectively. Samples are organized along the Y-axis based on ascending mean of left and right sides shown with black horizontal bar.

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