Abstract
To determine the epidemiology of Candida auris in South Africa, we reviewed data from public- and private-sector diagnostic laboratories that reported confirmed and probable cases of invasive disease and colonization for October 2012–November 2016. We defined a case as a first isolation of C. auris from any specimen from a person of any age admitted to any healthcare facility in South Africa. We defined probable cases as cases where the diagnostic laboratory had used a nonconfirmatory biochemical identification method and C. haemulonii was cultured. We analyzed 1,692 cases; 93% were from private-sector healthcare facilities, and 92% of cases from known locations were from Gauteng Province. Of cases with available data, 29% were invasive infections. The number of cases increased from 18 (October 2012–November 2013) to 861 (October 2015–November 2016). Our results show a large increase in C. auris cases during the study period, centered on private hospitals in Gauteng Province.
Highlights
To determine the epidemiology of Candida auris in South Africa, we reviewed data from public- and private-sector diagnostic laboratories that reported confirmed and probable cases of invasive disease and colonization for October 2012– November 2016
We have demonstrated a dramatic increase in the number of confirmed or probable cases of C. auris over 4 years in South Africa
C. auris was detected at a large number of hospitals; most patients were admitted to private-sector hospitals in Gauteng Province
Summary
To determine the epidemiology of Candida auris in South Africa, we reviewed data from public- and private-sector diagnostic laboratories that reported confirmed and probable cases of invasive disease and colonization for October 2012– November 2016. We defined a case as a first isolation of C. auris from any specimen from a person of any age admitted to any healthcare facility in South Africa. Our results show a large increase in C. auris cases during the study period, centered on private hospitals in Gauteng Province. C. auris has been associated with large healthcareassociated outbreaks because of its ability to be transmitted person-to-person by direct contact, form biofilms, Author affiliations: National Institute for Communicable Diseases, a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa
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