A small specialty hospital that operates within DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit is pausing admissions due to an outbreak of the deadly, drug-resistant fungus Candida auris, the Detroit Free Press reported April 20.
Select Speciality-Northwest Detroit, a 36-bed recovery hospital, has identified seven C. auris cases in the last five weeks. Select Specialty said it is ramping up hand hygiene practices, deep cleaning high-touch surfaces and screening all patients for C. auris every two weeks, among other actions.
State health officials are also working to identify and screen people discharged from the hospital since March 1. As of April 20, no additional cases have been identified.
No patients at Sinai-Grace Hospital, part of Detroit Medical Center, have tested positive for C. auris either.
"Sinai-Grace Hospital has extensive and rigorous infection-prevention protocols in place to ensure all hospital services remain safe and available to care for the community," Brittany Lavis, CEO of Detroit Medical Center, said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press. "We are fully cooperating with the [Detroit Health Department] and support the decision to pause patient admissions at the Select Specialty Hospital-Northwest Detroit."
Health officials have identified 15 cases in Michigan, including those at Select Specialty, since 2021, none of which have been fatal.