Enablers of Candida auris persistence on medical devices and their mode of eradication.

Abstract

Candida auris is an emerging pathogen predominantly isolated from immunocompromised patients, hospitalized for a long time. It inhabits the skin surfaces of patients causing ear, wound, and systemic infections; if not treated properly, it could lead to severe mortality. Apart from being a skin pathogen, C. auris colonizes the surfaces of medical devices. Medical devices are hospital tools and components often utilized for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases associated with human skin. The mechanism of survival and persistence of C. auris on medical devices has remained unclear and is a serious concern for clinicians. The persistence of C. auris on medical devices has deterred its effective elimination, hindered the treatment of infections, and increased its antifungal resistance. Evidence has shown that a few surface molecules on the cell wall of C. auris and the extracellular matrix of the biofilm are responsible for its persistence and exist as enablers. Due to the increased cases of ear, skin, and systemic infections as well as death resulting from the spread of C. auris in hospitals, there is a need to study these enablers. This review focused on the identification of the enablers and aimed to evaluate them in relation to their ability to induce persistence in C. auris. In order to reduce the spread of or completely eliminate C. auris and its enablers in hospitals, the efficacy of disinfection and sterilization methods were compared.