Janniger EJ, Kapila R. Public health issues with
Candida auris in COVID-19 patients.
WORLD MEDICAL & HEALTH POLICY 2021;
13:766-772. [PMID:
34909239 PMCID:
PMC8661744 DOI:
10.1002/wmh3.472]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has overwhelmed a number of medical facilities as well as a few entire health‐care systems. A novel issue co‐incident with the expeditious deployment of specialty care units for COVID‐19 inpatients is the worldwide epidemic of Candida auris infections. Since its first identification and classification in Japan in 2009, it has spread globally. This threat was predicted as C. auris has a high mortality rate, cryptic fomite spread, frequent misidentification since conventional methods do not detect it, and multidrug‐resistance. Since the April 2020 warning at the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic in the United States, C. auris has been delineated as an increasingly consequential source of significant nosocomial infections, emphasizing the added hazard of C. auris to COVID‐19 inpatients, particularly those in intensive care units.
Candida auris was a worldwide nosocomial epidemic prior to COVID‐19; it remains so!
This 21st century worldwide fungal epidemic complicates the COVID‐19 pandemic to jointly menace mankind
C. auris is multi‐drug resistant, requires expensive mass spectrometry equipment to diagnose, and has a high mortality rate in intensive care units
This nosocomial infection may persist on dry linen, sheets, floors, cell phones, and medical equipment for weeks
We propose a policy that documents the presence or absence of this invasive Candidal species in intensive care units during this COVID‐19 pandemic to aggressively eliminate it.
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