Candida auris: Diagnostic Challenges and Emerging Opportunities for the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review summarises the epidemiology ofCandida auris infection and describes contemporary and emerging diagnostic methods for detection and identification ofC. auris.Recent FindingsA fifthC. auris clade has been described. Diagnostic accuracy has improved with development of selective/differential media forC. auris. Advances in spectral databases of matrix-associated laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) systems have reduced misidentification. Direct detection ofC. auris in clinical specimens using real time PCR is increasingly used, as is whole genome sequencing (WGS) to track nosocomial spread and to study phylogenetic relationships and drug resistance.SummaryC. auris is an important transmissible, nosocomial pathogen. The microbiological laboratory diagnostic capacity has extended beyond culture-based methods to include PCR and WGS. Microbiological techniques on the horizon include the use of MALDI-TOF MS for early echinocandin antifungal susceptibility testing (AST) and expansion of the versatile and information-rich WGS methods for outbreak investigation.
Source: Current Fungal Infection Reports - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research