The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The outbreak in the neurosciences intensive care unit at Oxford University Hospitals involved 70 patients infected or colonized with C. auris.
An epidemiologic investigation and case-control study revealed one of the most significant reasons for the prolonged outbreak was the persistence of the organism on reusable devices that are put in a patient’s armpit for continuous temperature monitoring.
“Our results indicate that reusable patient equipment may serve as a source of healthcare-associated outbreaks of infection with C. auris,” the researchers wrote.
Although researchers are unsure of the exact mode of transmission for C. auris, it can stay on hospital surfaces and instruments and spread between patients, prompting U.K. health officials to revise infection prevention and control protocols.
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