Candida auris — UPSC Notes

🦠 What is Candida auris?

• A drug-resistant fungal species that causes serious invasive infections, mostly in hospitals & ICUs.
• First identified in Japan in 2009.
• Known as a “superbug fungus.”

🟢 UPSC Prelims — Key Facts

Why is it Dangerous?

• Multidrug-resistant (MDR):
  • Resistant to commonly used antifungals (Azoles, Amphotericin-B; sometimes even Echinocandins).
• Difficult to diagnose
  • Conventional lab tests may misidentify it.
• Highly transmissible in hospitals
  • Survives on surfaces & medical equipment for weeks.
• Causes outbreaks
  • Particularly in ICUs & long-term care hospitals.

Transmission

• Via contaminated surfaces, equipment, or healthcare workers’ hands
• Mostly hospital-acquired (nosocomial)

(Not usually community spread.)

Who is at Risk?

• ICU patients
• Immunocompromised persons
• Patients on ventilators / catheters / central lines
• Elderly
• People on long-term antibiotics/antifungals

Symptoms

(Nonspecific — looks like bacterial sepsis)

• Persistent fever & chills not responding to antibiotics
• Bloodstream / wound / ear infections

Mortality Rate

~30–60% in invasive infections
(depends on patient condition & treatment delay)

Treatment

• Echinocandins = first-line
• Combination therapy sometimes needed
• Strict hospital infection-control essential

Global & WHO Status

• Reported in 40+ countries
• WHO has classified it as a “Critical Priority Fungal Pathogen.”

India Context

• Detected in several Indian hospitals
• Increasing ICU-associated outbreaks highlight AMR & infection-control gaps

Diagnosis

• Requires advanced fungal identification systems
  • e.g., MALDI-TOF, PCR
• Routine cultures may misidentify → delayed treatment

📌 Prelims Pointers — Remember

• MDR fungal pathogen (not bacteria)
• Mainly hospital-acquired
• AMR-related
• First discovered in 2009
• WHO = Critical Priority Pathogen

🟣 UPSC Mains — Analytical Notes

Link with Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

• Overuse of antibiotics & antifungals
• Prolonged hospitalisation
• Invasive ICU care
  → create selection pressure, allowing resistant fungi like C. auris to spread.

Why It Is a Public-Health Threat

1. High resistance — few treatment options
2. Silent outbreaks due to misdiagnosis
3. Persistence on hospital surfaces
4. High mortality in vulnerable patients
5. Weak infection-control in developing countries

Public-Health Response Required

• Surveillance & reporting
• Hospital infection-control
  • Hand hygiene
  • Isolation of infected patients
  • Surface disinfection (chlorine/H₂O₂ vapour)
• Rapid diagnostics
• Antimicrobial stewardship
• Training of healthcare workers

Ethical & Governance Angle

• Protect vulnerable patients
• Invest in lab capacity
• Regulation of antimicrobial use
• Strengthen National Program on AMR containment

📝 Value-Add Line for GS-2 / GS-3

“Candida auris highlights the rising fungal dimension of antimicrobial resistance. Its multidrug resistance, diagnostic difficulty and persistence in hospital environments make it a critical global health-security challenge.”

📍 Likely UPSC Prelims Question

Candida auris is often seen in news. It is:
(a) A bacterium causing multidrug-resistant TB
(b) A fungal pathogen resistant to multiple antifungal drugs
(c) A virus causing haemorrhagic fever
(d) A protozoa transmitted by mosquitoes

✔ Answer: (b)