An outbreak due to Candida auris with prolonged colonisation and candidaemia in a tertiary care European hospital

Multidrug-resistant Candida auris has emerged as a cause of insidious hospital outbreaks and complicated infections. We present the analysis of an ongoing C.auris outbreak including the largest published series of C.auris bloodstream infection. All C.auris-positive patients from April-2016 to January-2017 were included. Environmental, clinical and microbiological data were recorded. Definitive isolate identification was performed by ITS-rDNA sequencing, and typing by amplified fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting. One hundred and forty patients were colonised by C.auris during the studied period (68% from surgical intensive care). Although control measures were implemented, we were not able to control the outbreak. Forty-one invasive bloodstream infections (87.8% from surgical intensive care) were included. Clinical management included prompt intravascular catheter removal and antifungal therapy with echinocandins. All isolates were fluconazole- and voriconazole-resistant, but echinocandin- and amphotericin B-susceptible. Thirty-day mortality rate was 41.4%, and severe septic metastasis as spondylodiscitis and endocarditis were observed in 5 patients (12%). C.auris was also recovered from inanimate patient surroundings and medical equipment. Despite antifungal treatment, high mortality and late complication rates were recorded. Molecular typing suggested a clonal outbreak different from those previously published.