Candida auras (C. auris) is a drug-resistant fungus with a dangerously high mortality rate. Most C. auris cases are resistant to one antifungal drug at minimum. However, chronic cases include strains which are resistant to all three antifungal drugs used to treat the fungus. Cases of C. auris typically arise in healthcare facilities, due to prolonged isolation periods following exposure.
Crisci explains the management of the C. auris outbreak in the United States in 2018. Following the broadcast, New York state issued an advisory that all those who were potentially exposed should be isolated and tested for C. auris immediately. All testing strains were sent to the Wadsworth Center Mycology Laboratory (WCML) in Albany, and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) granted the request for expansion of the laboratory site.
Despite these efforts, new challenges arose as waiting for the test results sometimes took up to one week. This wait-time created additional issues with accommodating patients during their isolation period, especially as the incidence of cases increased.