Two patients previously admitted to the University of Washington Medical Center-Northwest have tested positive for Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus that has become a growing concern in healthcare settings. The Seattle-based hospital is working with public health officials to notify other healthcare facilities and prevent community spread.
One patient, who was admitted from a skilled nursing facility, was diagnosed with a C. auris bloodstream infection after a complex hospital stay, UW Medicine said in an Oct. 14 news release. The second patient tested positive for C. auris colonization upon admission to another facility several weeks after being discharged. No additional cases were identified after expanded screening at UW Medical Center-Northwest.
“Healthy people typically do not need to worry about C. auris infections,” Eric Chow, MD, chief of communicable disease epidemiology for the public health department in Seattle and King County, said in a statement. “The risk is primarily for patients at the hospital for a long time and who need medical interventions like breathing tubes, feeding tubes or urinary catheters.”
Officials said it is impossible to determine whether the two cases are linked because it is unclear where the pathogen was acquired. The two patients’ hospital stays briefly overlapped on the same unit. The hospital said it notified staff and implemented specialized cleaning and disinfection measures to prevent the pathogen’s spread.
“As is the case with many multidrug-resistant organisms, it can be difficult to identify the initial source of the infection,” Dr. Chow said. “While the investigation is ongoing, the original source of C. auris in this situation may never be identified. However, early identification of these cases and collaboration between [the public health department] and UW Medicine provides a greater opportunity to reduce the risk of further spread.”
C. auris is resistant to multiple antifungal treatments and can spread quickly in healthcare settings, particularly among patients who are immunocompromised. Clinical cases of the fungus in the U.S. jumped more than 50% from 2022 to 2023, reaching more than 4,500 infections across 36 states and Washington, D.C., according to CDC data.
