Candida auris, a strain of yeast bacteria first described in 2009, is well-equipped to growing and spreading in hospital environments, unlike other strains of Candida, according to new research in mSphere.
“Unlike most other Candida species, this organism has the propensity to persist and spread within the hospital environment, with large numbers of patients becoming colonized,” Andrew Borman, PhD, principal clinical scientist and deputy director of the Public Health England Mycology Reference Laboratory in Bristol, U.K., said in a statement. “We need to understand why C. auris has only become a worldwide issue over the last few years, why it has ‘emerged’ so rapidly, and where it is found outside of the human population.”
The strain has already been linked with a string of deadly yeast infections, leading the CDC in June to warn U.S. hospitals to keep on the lookout. Additionally, the new research identified C. auris as having growth characteristics that make it as capable of causing infection and disease as Candida albicans, a strain currently thought to be the most dangerous in the Candida species.
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