Candida auris-associated hospitalizations and outbreaks, China, 2018–2023

ABSTRACT

The emerging human fungal pathogen Candida auris has become a serious threat to public health. This pathogen has spread to 10 provinces in China as of December 2023. Here we describe 312 C. auris-associated hospitalizations and 4 outbreaks in healthcare settings in China from 2018 to 2023. Three genetic clades of C. auris have been identified during this period. Molecular epidemiological analyses indicate that C. auris has been introduced and local transmission has occurred in multiple instances in China. Most C. auris isolated from China (98.7%) exhibited resistance to fluconazole, while only a small subset of strains were resistant to amphotericin B (4.2%) and caspofungin (2.2%).

KEYWORDS:

• Candida auris
• emerging fungal pathogen
• China
• outbreaks
• molecular epidemiology

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant number 2021YFC2300400 to G.H. and no. 2022YFC2303000 to H.D. and J.B.), National Natural Science Foundation of China (award 31930005 and 82272359 to G.H., nos. 32170193 and 32000018 to J.B., and 82172290 and 82002123 to H.D), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) (grant R35GM124594 to CJN) and by the Kamangar family in the form of an endowed chair (to CJN). The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not represent the views of the funders. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyzes, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Disclosure statement

Clarissa J. Nobile is a cofounder of BioSynesis, Inc., a company developing diagnostics and therapeutics for biofilm infections.