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Candida Auris Prevention (C. Auris)
Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat. C. auris causes severe illness in hospitalized patients. Patients can remain colonized with C. auris for a long time and C. auris can persist on surfaces in healthcare environments.
What is it?
Candida auris is a fungus that, when it gets into the bloodstream, can cause dangerous infections that can be life-threatening. Scientists first identified it in 2009 in a patient in Japan. In recent years, it has emerged around the world, largely in hospitals and nursing homes.
People with compromised or weakened immune systems are the most vulnerable. This includes elderly people, and also people who are already sick; in at least one case, newborns were infected at a neonatal unit. People with weakened immunity are likely to have more trouble fighting off an initial invasion by C. auris and also are likely to be in settings, like hospitals and nursing homes, where the infection is more prevalent.
Symptoms and Treatment
The symptoms of C. auris — fever, aches, fatigue — are not unusual, so it is hard to recognize the infection without testing. The good news is that the threat of becoming sick with C. auris is very low for healthy people going about their daily lives. If you or a loved one is in a hospital or nursing home, you can ask if there have been cases of Candida auris there. If so, it is reasonable to request that proper “infection control” precautions are taken.
Outbreaks
C. auris is often resistant to major antifungal drugs that are typically used to treat such infections. The C.D.C. says that more than 90 percent of C. auris infections are resistant to at least one such drug, while 30 percent are resistant to two or more major drugs. Once the germ is present, it is hard to eradicate from a facility. Some hospitals have had to bring in special cleaning equipment and even rip out floor and ceiling tiles to get rid of it.
As of April 6, 2019, there have been 587 C. auris cases reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most of them in New York, New Jersey and Illinois.
Infection PREVENTION OF Candida Auris
To help prevent the spread of Candida Auris, hospitals and other health care facilities follow strict infection-control guidelines. Preventive measures include:
Hand-washing. Health care workers should practice good hand hygiene before and after treating each person in their care. In the event of a C. auris outbreak, using soap and warm water is a better choice for hand hygiene, because alcohol-based hand sanitizers do not effectively destroy C. auris fungus. Visitors also should wash their hands with soap and warm water before and after leaving the room or using the bathroom.
Contact precautions. People who are hospitalized with C. auris have a private room or share a room with someone who has the same illness. Hospital staff and visitors wear disposable gloves and isolation gowns while in the room.
Thorough cleaning. In any setting, all surfaces should be carefully disinfected with a product that contains hypochlorite or EPA registered products that is effective against C. Difficile, which is recommended by EPA and CDC for disinfecting Candida Auris. C. auris fungus can survive routine cleaning products.
Avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed for viral illnesses that aren't helped by these drugs. Take a wait-and-see attitude with simple ailments. If you do need an antibiotic, ask your doctor to prescribe one that has a narrow range and that you take for the shortest time possible.
HSP PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS FOR Candida Auris PREVENTION
Since there is no products registered to kill Candida Auris. It is necessary to disinfect with a product that is EPA registered to kill C. difficile, which is recommended by EPA and CDC for disinfecting Candida Auris. SPOREX disinfectant kill C. difficile in 3 minutes.