Interim guidance for management of <i>Candida auris</i> infections in South African hospitals

Abstract

Candida auris is an emerging fungal (yeast‐like) pathogen which has caused invasive infections and hospital outbreaks on several continents. The fungus is difficult to identify in the routine laboratory setting, is associated with a high in‐hospital mortality among patients with invasive infection and may be difficult to “eradicate” from the hospital environment. Of most concern, C. auris is often multi‐drug resistant; almost all tested C. auris isolates are resistant to fluconazole, an important first‐line antifungal agent^1‐7, and in a recent global study, more than 40% of isolates were resistant to two or more major classes of antifungals¹