A 48-year-old man on ICU has been receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics for 21 days. He develops a new fever with blood cultures growing Candida auris....

Question

A 48-year-old man on ICU has been receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics for 21 days. He develops a new fever with blood cultures growing Candida auris. The microbiology laboratory flags this as an infection control emergency. Why is C. auris considered a global health threat?

Accepted Answer

C. auris is frequently multidrug-resistant (resistant to fluconazole in >90% of isolates, with emerging resistance to echinocandins and amphotericin B), persists in the hospital environment on surfaces for weeks, is difficult to identify with standard laboratory methods, and causes healthcare-associated outbreaks with high mortality

Answer

C. auris is easily treated with all standard antifungals

Answer

C. auris only causes superficial skin infections

Answer

C. auris is a commensal organism with no pathogenic potential

Answer

C. auris is susceptible to all antifungals

uk-fficm MCQ (SBA): Candida auris

A 48-year-old man on ICU has been receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics for 21 days. He develops a new fever with blood cultures growing Candida auris. The microbiology laboratory flags this as an infection control emergency. Why is C. auris considered a global health threat?