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. 2025 Jun 5;14(6):579.
doi: 10.3390/antibiotics14060579.

Candidozyma auris Outbreak and Its Effective Control in a General Hospital

Flora V Kontopidou  1 , Maria Antonopoulou  1 , Anastasia Votsi  2 , Vassiliki Papoutsaki  2 , Vassiliki Bereri  3 , Evangelia Kourkoulou  3 , Amalia Rompola  4 , Georgia Tsokou  4 , Anna Pavli  3 , Olga Maria Koutantelia  1 , Maria Siopi  5 , Sevasti Leventaki  5 , Joseph Meletiadis  5 , George L Daikos  1
Affiliations

Candidozyma auris Outbreak and Its Effective Control in a General Hospital

Flora V Kontopidou et al. Antibiotics (Basel). .

Abstract

Background/Objectives:Candidozyma auris (C. auris) is a multidrug-resistant pathogen recognized as a serious global public health threat. Herein, we report a C. auris outbreak that was successfully contained in a general hospital located in Athens, Greece. Methods: This study was conducted between December 2021 and December 2023. Upon identification of the first imported case of C. auris, the following infection control measures were applied in a stepwise approach: the promotion of hand hygiene, contact precautions and isolation, chlorhexidine gluconate bathing of patients, enhanced environmental cleaning, and active surveillance cultures of all high-risk patients upon admission. Active surveillance cultures were performed weekly in non-colonized ICU patients. Results: A total of 1564 screening samples from 890 patients were analyzed. Sixty-three patients were identified to be colonized and three to be infected with C. auris. After implementing screening and enhanced environmental cleaning, the quarterly incidence of hospital-acquired cases decreased from 0.37 to 0.04 cases per 1000 patient-days (slope of linear trend: -0.08; 95% CI: -0.16 to -0.0004; p = 0.05), despite the continuous inflow of already colonized patients. Conclusions: A bundle of infection control measures, including active surveillance cultures upon admission and enhanced environmental cleaning, can contain C. auris dissemination in acute healthcare settings.

Keywords: C. auris; active surveillance; healthcare-associated infections; infection prevention and control.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of patients with C. auris per quarter. Each quarter depicts all hospitalized patients with C. auris (new cases (imported or hospital-acquired), unknown cases, and old cases consisting of those who remained in the hospital for a period longer than the quarter in which they were first detected). The letters a, b, c, and d indicate the respective quarter of the year.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Quarterly incidence rate of new C. auris cases during post-intervention period. Columns indicate imported cases, whereas line indicates hospital-acquired cases. The letters a, b, c, and d indicate the respective quarter of the year.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Intervention measures according to time periods.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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