Several years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it was establishing the Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network (AR Lab Network) in Puerto Rico and all 50 states. It was designed to help detect new forms of drug resistance as novel fungal threats emerge.

Specifically mentioned in the announcement was Candida auris. CDC reported that this fungus poses a unique challenge to public health because it can cause invasive and often deadly infections that can be resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, and that it is particularly concerning because it can spread to other patients.

Candida auris was first identified in 2009 in Asia and has quickly become a cause of severe infections around the world. The agency has listed C. auris as a concerning drug-resistant fungus because it is:

• Often multidrug-resistant, with some strains resistant to all three available classes of antifungals
  
• Can cause outbreaks in healthcare facilities
  
• Some common healthcare disinfectants are less effective at eliminating it
  
• Can be carried on patients' skin without causing infection, allowing spread to others
  

CDC goes on to report that it can be spread in healthcare settings through contact with contaminated environmental surfaces or equipment, or from person to person. The agency also warns that patients and residents in healthcare facilities often remain colonized with C. auris for many months, perhaps indefinitely, even after acute infection (if present) has been treated and resolves.

“While the risk of C. auris infection in otherwise healthy people is low, in some hospitalized patients with weakened immune systems it can cause wound infections, ear infections and bloodstream infections which can spread throughout the body,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “In Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean, nursing home, long-term care, and hospital administrators and infection control professionals have access to the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) professionals at Zimmetry Environmental to help prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Our experts identify fungi, bacteria and viruses from surfaces, air and water samples. These services can help to prevent illnesses, pinpoint the source of an outbreak if one has already occurred, and verify that cleaning and disinfection protocols are working effectively.”

Zimmetry also recently sponsored an educational video about C. auris that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/JGpL7VmKezg

To learn more about infection control, microbial pathogens or indoor environmental quality services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .

About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals and Fortune 500 companies. The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America. The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs and general environmental consulting services.

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