How is Candida auris Transmitted?

Snigdha Vallabhaneni, MD, MPH, Medical Epidemiologist, Mycotic Diseases Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains how the transmission of Candida auris differs from that of other Candida species.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“We’re still learning a lot about how Candida auris is spread, but something we do know [is] that Candida auris can colonize patients’ bodies.

What’s interesting about Candida auris is that it seems to colonize skin, and that’s different from most species of Candida that [mostly] colonize the [gastrointestinal] tract. So, colonizing the skin allows the patients to shed the organism more into the healthcare environment, [which gives it] the potential to spread.

The other thing about Candida auris is that it seems to colonize the healthcare environment; so things like the bedrails, and tables, and surfaces that the patient touches seem to be contaminated with Candida auris, and [the organism] seems to persist in the healthcare environment for quite a long time.

So, those two indicate that there’s potential for transmission in the healthcare setting, whether it’s from the environment to the patient, or from one patient to another patient. But, we’re still learning a lot more about how it’s transmitted and how to stop transmission of Candida auris.”