Candida auris Outbreak in a COVID-19 Specialty Care Unit - Florida, July-August 2020

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021 Jan 15;70(2):56-57. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7002e3.

Abstract

In July 2020, the Florida Department of Health was alerted to three Candida auris bloodstream infections and one urinary tract infection in four patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who received care in the same dedicated COVID-19 unit of an acute care hospital (hospital A). C. auris is a multidrug-resistant yeast that can cause invasive infection. Its ability to colonize patients asymptomatically and persist on surfaces has contributed to previous C. auris outbreaks in health care settings (1-7). Since the first C. auris case was identified in Florida in 2017, aggressive measures have been implemented to limit spread, including contact tracing and screening upon detection of a new case. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital A conducted admission screening for C. auris and admitted colonized patients to a separate dedicated ward.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology
  • COVID-19 / therapy*
  • Candida / isolation & purification*
  • Candidiasis / epidemiology*
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Female
  • Florida / epidemiology
  • Hospital Units*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged